The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) welcomes the recent decision by the European Union, which imposes targeted sanctions -including travel bans and asset freezes- on individuals and entities involved in settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. This step reflects a long-overdue acknowledgement by the EU of the escalating and systematic nature of attacks perpetrated by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians, amid growing international concern over the sharp rise in such attacks.
PHROC stresses that what is commonly referred to as “settler violence” can no longer be understood as individual isolated acts of violence, but rather as state-backed crimes, which aim at entrenching Israel’s settler -colonial project in Palestine at the expense of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination. This holds especially true in light of the fact that these are deliberate and organised crimes targeting Palestinian civilians, forming an integral component of a broader system of control and dispossession. Israeli settlers operate within an enabling environment shaped by state policy: they are armed, organised, and supported -directly or indirectly- through governmental structures and funding mechanisms. At the same time, Israeli occupying forces systematically fail to fulfil their legal obligation to protect the Palestinian civilian population under occupation.
Moreover, Israeli political leadership -including senior ministers and members of Knesset- has contributed to normalising and legitimising such crimes through inflammatory statements and rhetoric, incitement and policy decisions. The recent suspension of the already limited enforcement measures against violent settlers, alongside continued expansion of settlements, further entrenches a culture of impunity and signals institutional endorsement rather than restraint.
In this context, the EU’s current measures, while important, risk producing only limited results. Targeting a small number of individuals and entities does not address the structural drivers of settler violence nor the state policies that sustain it. As noted by European officials themselves, these sanctions are widely viewed as an initial and insufficient step amid broader calls for more comprehensive action.
PHROC reminds the EU of the ICJ Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024, which renders Israel’s presence in the Palestinian territory unlawful as it contravenes the prohibition imposed on the acquisition of territory by force and the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, which are well-established principles of international law. The Court found that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is illegal, considering that such presence constitutes a wrongful act entailing its international responsibility.
Therefore, PHROC calls on the European Union and its member states to move beyond symbolic measures and adopt a more robust and principled approach grounded in international law. This should include:
Expanding sanctions to encompass all individuals, organisations, and institutions complicit in settlement expansions and violence;
Ensuring accountability for state actors who enable or fail to prevent such violations;
Imposing economic bans and sanctions on Israel and prohibiting economic relations with all settlements.
Reviewing existing agreements with Israel to ensure compliance with human rights obligations.
In addition, PHROC stresses that accountability must be meaningful, not selective. Without addressing the structural and state-backed nature of settler violence, international measures will fall short of providing protection to Palestinian civilians or deterring further violations.
PHROC reiterates that the protection of civilians under occupation is a binding legal obligation under international law, not a discretionary political choice. The international community must act accordingly.
