Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

EU foreign policy chief: Close to deal on sanctions for ‘violent settlers’

“I expect a political agreement on the sanctions of violent settlers. Hopefully we’ll get there,” said Kaja Kallas.

EU Commission vice-president, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas talks to media prior to an informal breakfast with foreign affairs ministers from the six Western Balkans partners on May 11, 2026 in Brussels, Belgium. Photo by Thierry Monasse/Getty Images.
EU Commission vice-president, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas talks to media prior to an informal breakfast with foreign affairs ministers from the six Western Balkans partners on May 11, 2026 in Brussels, Belgium. Photo by Thierry Monasse/Getty Images.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas used her doorstep remarks in Brussels on Monday to signal that E.U. foreign ministers are close to a deal on sanctions targeting “violent settlers,” saying she expects a political agreement at the Foreign Affairs Council.

“I expect a political agreement on the sanctions of violent settlers. Hopefully we’ll get there,” the Estonian politician and diplomat told reporters, referring to accusations that some Jewish residents of Israel’s Judea and Samaria region commit acts of violence against local Palestinian Arabs.

Ireland’s national public service broadcaster reported on Monday that according to E.U. officials “seven settlers or settler organizations” were set to be blacklisted, and that the bloc was also preparing sanctions against representatives of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

The FAC convenes once a month, bringing together foreign ministers of E.U. member states to discuss the bloc’s foreign policy objectives.

See more from JNS Staff
Judy Schwank told JNS that “if we can get it through both bodies and get it to the governor’s desk, he will sign it.”
The reversal “sends an unfortunate signal at a time of rising antisemitism and sustained efforts to isolate Israel economically,” Evan R. Bernstein, CEO of B’nai B’rith International, told JNS.
The Combat Antisemitism Movement condemned the disruption, calling claims that Israel commits genocide and kills children a modern blood libel.
Mark Levine “pledged many times to restore New York City’s investment in Israel Bonds and had it right when he called them ‘a long-term safe and secure investment,’” an Israel Bonds spokesman told JNS.