France is collaborating with multiple nations to implement coordinated sanctions targeting individuals connected to violence in the West Bank, according to three European diplomats who spoke Saturday.
The proposed measures would encompass asset freezes and travel bans, though the diplomats noted that final details remain under discussion and participating countries may target different lists of individuals.
This initiative emerges as violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank intensifies, reflecting growing frustration among Western nations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and its settlement expansion policies. Diplomats indicate these expansions aim to undermine the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state.
With European Union efforts to advance stronger measures against Israel facing obstacles, several countries have determined that coordinated national sanctions represent their best available approach.
“There is no unanimity at the EU level, so we have moved to discussions at the national level,” one diplomat explained.
Two diplomats indicated an announcement could come within days.
According to another diplomatic source, Britain and Norway are among the nations France is coordinating with, though the complete list of participating countries remains uncertain.
Most nations prefer not to discuss national sanctions publicly to prevent potential targets from moving assets beforehand.
Following EU sanctions implemented May 11, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar criticized the bloc for choosing “in an arbitrary and political manner, to impose sanctions on Israeli citizens and entities because of their political views and without any basis.”
On May 22, seven Western nations including France, Britain, Australia and Canada criticized the Israeli government for worsening tensions in the West Bank.
A particular concern involves Israel’s planned settlement construction east of Jerusalem, called the E1 project, which would divide the West Bank and separate it from East Jerusalem, breaking up territory Palestinians want for their independent state.
“In the face of settlement expansion and violence in the West Bank, we have already taken measures. More could follow,” a French diplomatic source stated, refusing to provide additional details.
Britain’s Foreign Office declined comment, while the Norwegian foreign ministry did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
This push for increased national-level pressure on Israel comes just before France hosts a June 12 meeting in Paris, bringing together Israeli and Palestinian civil society organizations along with approximately twelve foreign ministers.
The gathering will commemorate one year since adopting the New York Declaration, a non-binding United Nations resolution endorsed by the General Assembly that outlined a pathway toward Palestinian statehood and prompted about twelve countries, including France, to recognize a Palestinian state in September.
French officials stated they want to maintain international focus on the issue as conflicts in Iran and Lebanon shift attention from the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, while Gaza’s future remains stalled despite a fragile ceasefire.
