Australia announced on Wednesday that it has imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on seven Israeli residents of Judea and Samaria as well as the Hilltop Youth group, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
The move followed the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) determination last week that Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria are illegal under international law.
The seven residents of Judea and Samaria sanctioned were identified as Yinon Levi, Zvi Bar Yosef, Neria Ben Pazi, Elisha Yered, David Chai Chasdai, Einan Tanjil and Meir Ettinger.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said those sanctioned had been involved in “grave violence against Palestinians.”
"These individuals have been involved in violent attacks on Palestinians including things such as beatings, sexual assault and torture resulting in serious injury and in some cases, death," she said, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
"The entity sanctioned is a youth group that is responsible for inciting and perpetrating violence against Palestinian communities," she added.
The Australian government called on Israel to hold perpetrators of “settler violence” to account and cease its ongoing “settlement”.
Earlier this week, Japan announced sanctions against four Israelis for alleged violence against Palestinian Authority Arabs in Judea and Samaria.
Sanctions were imposed on Yinon Levi, Tzvi Bar-Yosef, Moshe Sharvit and Neriya Ben-Pazi. This is the first time that Japan has imposed sanctions on Israelis.
The Japanese government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said that "the number of violent incidents by some Israeli settlers has dramatically increased since last October. In this situation, we have decided to designate them as targets for asset freezes."
Earlier this month, the US State Department announced sanctions on multiple Israeli individuals and entities "for being involved in violence or threats of violence targeting civilians, seizure or dispossession of property by private actors, or actions that threaten the peace, stability and security of the West Bank; or being owned or controlled by an individual designated under this order."
In addition, the leaders of Tzav 9, the organization that protests against the provision of aid into Gaza while Israeli civilians continue to be held hostages, were targeted in the new round of sanctions.