Western Nations Announce New Sanctions Over West Bank Violence

The United Kingdom, Canada, France, and Norway have jointly imposed sanctions targeting individuals and networks linked to violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The move reflects growing international concern over escalating tensions and the impact of settlement expansion on prospects for a future Palestinian state.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have settled among millions of Palestinians in land that Israel captured in a 1967 war. Nearly all countries and a range of U.N. bodies consider such settlements a violation of international law, although Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ​ties to the land.

The measures by the four countries were coordinated with sanctions already announced last week by Australia and New Zealand, underscoring ​anger in many Western countries towards Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which has expanded settlements.