The European Union imposed sanctions on Thursday against several Judea and Samaria advocacy groups and leaders, labeling them “extremist Israeli settlers and organizations” accused of “serious and systematic human rights abuses” against Palestinians in the territory.
Those sanctioned under the EU’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime include the Nachala Settlement Movement and its director, Daniella Weiss; the Regavim NGO and its director, Meir Deutsch; Hashomer Yosh and its president, Avichai Suissa; and Amana, the settlement-building cooperative affiliated with the Gush Emunim movement.
The EU accused the groups of supporting or facilitating violence, forced displacement and dispossession of Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, which the bloc refers to as the West Bank. The sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans.
In a statement, Regavim said it was sanctioned for the “crime” of filing a petition with the Israeli courts against “an illegal European Union structure built at the foot of Herodium, on the edge of the Judean Desert Nature Reserve.”
According to the organization, the structure had been used as a school. Regavim said an engineering assessment submitted to the court found the building posed a safety hazard.
The NGO argued that the EU sanctions issued on Thursday are a “direct threat” to the judges who made the ruling, “who may become the next targets of sanctions if they rule in favor of law enforcement in Judea and Samaria.”
The sanctions were approved earlier this month by EU foreign ministers following a political agreement led by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
