Australia sanctions seven settlers and a group responsible for the uprising of settlements in the West Bank

Jul 25. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Australian government on Thursday imposed sanctions and travel bans on seven Israeli settlers and a religious group over their activities in settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

“We have imposed sanctions on seven individuals and one entity for their role in settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank,” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said, adding that these individuals “have been involved in violent attacks against Palestinians.”

The Australian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “the sanctions have been adopted after careful consideration” and that “they are in line with the actions of others in recent months.”

Wong reiterated Australia’s support for the realisation of the two-state solution, which involves the creation of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, an option flatly rejected by the current Israeli government, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We continue to act in whatever way we can to look at how to protect the path to a two-state solution. Part of that is ensuring that we also impose sanctions on those who perpetrate violence against Palestinians in the West Bank,” he argued.

The sanctions target the Hilltop Youth group, which is involved in building settlements in the area, as well as seven settlers identified as Yinon Levi, Zvi Bar Yosef, Neria Ben Pazi, Elisha Yered, David Chai Chasdai, Einan Tanjil and Meir Ettinger, Australian television channel ABC reported.

The decision was announced just days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s settlement policy in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is contrary to the Fourth Geneva Convention on the forced displacement of persons and, in particular with regard to the exploitation of the natural resources of these territories and the imposition of Israeli national laws on them, constitutes an annexation effort and is contrary to international law.