UK announces new sanctions against West Bank settler organisations

The UK government has announced new sanctions against organisations it says are involved in the construction of illegal Israeli settler outposts in the West Bank.

The measures, announced on Tuesday by foreign secretary David Lammy, target seven settler outposts or organisations and were taken under Britain’s global human rights sanctions regime.

Those sanctioned included the AMANA entity, which the government said was “involved in the construction of illegal settler outposts and providing funding and other economic resources for Israeli settlers involved in threatening and perpetrating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.”

Other organisations also sanctioned are Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva, Hashomer Yosh and Torat Lechima.

An announcement on the government’s website named the Tirzah Valley Farm Outpost, Meitarim Outpost, and Shuvi Eretz Outpost – as being involved in facilitating, inciting, promoting or providing support for activity that amounts to a serious abuse of the right of Palestinians not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

The new move comes just weeks after

, an Israeli expert on the West Bank spoke at a packed Labour conference event put on by the Yachad organisation, and said the UK is “seriously lagging behind” when it comes to imposing financial sanctions on violent settlers and settler entities.calls on UK to introduce new sanctions against West Bank settlers

Announcing the new move Lammy said: “When I went to the West Bank earlier this year, on one of my first trips as Foreign Secretary, I met with Palestinians whose communities have suffered horrific violence at the hands of Israeli settlers.

“The inaction of the Israeli government has allowed an environment of impunity to flourish where settler violence has been allowed to increase unchecked. Settlers have shockingly even targeted schools and families with young children.

“Today’s measures will help bring accountability to those who have supported and perpetrated such heinous abuses of human rights. The Israeli government must crack down on settler violence and stop settler expansion on Palestinian land. As long as violent extremists remain unaccountable, the UK and the international community will continue to act.”

Settler violence often seeks to force Palestinians to leave their homes, and seize their land for the construction of outposts, which are illegal under both international and Israeli law, an update on the government’s website said.

The measures follow an unprecedented rise in settler violence in the West Bank over the last year, with the UN recording over 1,400 attacks by settlers against Palestinian communities since October 2023.

The month of October sees the beginning of the olive harvest in the West Bank, an important time both culturally and economically for Palestinians. It has traditionally suffered spikes in violence as organised settler groups disrupt and attack Palestinians.

The government said the measures are part of wider UK efforts to support a more stable West Bank, which is vital for the peace and security of both Palestinians and Israelis.

Speaking at an event organised by Yachad at Labour conference Shaul said:”“Since May, we haven’t had an announcement from the UK on sanctions against violence and settler terrorism.

“I think that’s a very important issue. The United States has opened the door. The Tory government did it in May. This should be a very low hanging fruit for Labour.

“Defending Israeli terrorism in the West Bank is not something that many people would stand and do. ”