The UK, Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, and Norway imposed sanctions on networks financing and enabling settler attacks against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on June 9, 2026 [1, 2, 3]. France also banned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, three settler group leaders, and 21 settlers from entering its territory due to their roles in settlement expansion and violence in the West Bank [2, 3].
Smotrich, a far-right member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition, has authority over policies on West Bank settlements [1, 2]. The bans come amid a sharp rise in settler violence since the 2023 Hamas-led Gaza war. The UN documented 1,835 settler attacks in 2025 causing casualties or property damage in about 280 West Bank communities, including seven Palestinians killed and 832 injured—an increase of 130% from the previous year [1].
Settlement expansion has accelerated since Netanyahu returned to power in 2022, with over 100 new settlements approved, including legalization of prior unauthorized outposts [1]. Around 160 Israeli settlements currently exist in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, housing approximately 700,000 Jewish settlers [1].
Joint foreign ministers of the sanctioning countries said, "For too long, violent settlers have been able to act with near impunity, and settlement expansion and creation of outposts continue with the support and facilitation of the Government of Israel. In some cases, settler violence takes place under the protection of Israel's security forces" [1].
France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said, "We are today imposing new sanctions against those responsible for intensifying colonization and violence in the West Bank" and added that banning four settler leaders and 21 settlers condemned a policy "that the overwhelming majority of the international community, firmly committed to the two-state solution, cannot accept" [2, 3].
Israel rejected the sanctions as "disgraceful measures as political acts camouflaged as measures against violence" [1].
France previously banned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir in May 2026 for mocking activists on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla [2]. Ireland, Spain, and Slovenia have also banned Smotrich and Ben Gvir recently [2].
The UK Foreign Office advises British businesses against involvement in illegal Israeli settlements [3].
The coordinated sanctions mark a new effort by Western allies to target networks that fund or facilitate settler violence amid ongoing tensions in the West Bank following the Gaza war that began with the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack [1].
