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PARIS – Israeli settlers could face further sanctions in coming days in protest at the escalation of illegal settlements in the West Bank and a surge in violence by settlers against Palestinians, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Sunday.
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The European Union imposed sanctions on Israeli settlers and organisations that support them late last month.
Speaking to Public Senat television and RTL radio, Barrot did not name the European countries he said could impose further measures. But in a reference to the previous EU sanctions, he said: “We could go further, and in the coming days, further sanctions could be imposed.”
His remarks follow escalating violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank and underscore anger in many Western countries toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which has expanded settlements. Diplomats say that expansion is aimed at undermining prospects for a Palestinian state.
Reuters reported on Saturday, citing European diplomats, that France is working with several countries to step up pressure on Israel by pressing ahead with coordinated national sanctions targeting individuals linked to violence in the West Bank.
“I am extremely concerned about the escalation of illegal settlement activity in the West Bank and the surge in violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians,” Barrot said.
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“This is why I have pushed for sanctions to be imposed not only on those responsible for this violence, but also on the entities, companies and organisations in Israel that are providing these extremist settlers with the means to drive Palestinians from their land, burn their crops and destroy their public buildings,” he said.
He said the previous measures were “a way of calling on the Israeli government to face up to its responsibilities regarding this violence which, in my view, also undermines the authority of the state to some extent.”
On May 22 seven major Western nations called on Israel to halt the expansion of settlements in the West Bank and curb growing settler violence.
“Over the past few months, the situation in the West Bank has deteriorated significantly,” Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Australia and New Zealand said in a joint statement.
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(Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide, Editing by William Maclean)
Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.