The European Council decided today to list four persons and two entities under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime.
"The listed individuals and entities are responsible for serious human rights abuses against Palestinians, including torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and for the violation of right to property and to private and family life of Palestinians in the West Bank," the EU stated.
"The listed entities are Lehava, a radical right-wing Jewish supremacist group, and Hilltop Youth, a radical youth group consisting of members known for violent acts against Palestinians and their villages in the West Bank. Two leading figures of Hilltop Youth, Meir Ettinger and Elisha Yered, are also listed. Both were involved in deadly attacks against Palestinians in 2015 and 2023."
The EU listed two new figures for sanctions: "Today’s designations also include Neria Ben Pazi, who has been accused of repeatedly attacking Palestinians in Wadi Seeq and in Deir Jarir since 2021, and Yinon Levi, who has taken part in multiple violent acts against neighbouring villages from his residence in the Mitarim farm illegal outpost. With today’s listings, restrictive measures under the EU’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime now apply to 108 natural and legal persons and 28 entities from a range of countries."
According to the EU, "those listed under the sanctions regime are subject to an asset freeze, and the provision of funds or economic resources, directly or indirectly, to them or for their benefit, is prohibited. Additionally, a travel ban to the EU applies to the natural persons listed."
"The European Council calls for an immediate halt to violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and for safe access to the holy sites to be ensured. The European Council strongly condemns extremist settler violence, stating that perpetrators must be held to account; and called on the Council to accelerate work on adopting relevant targeted restrictive measures. The European Council also condemns the Israeli government’s decisions to further expand illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank and urges Israel to reverse these decisions," the Council stated.
In the USA, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued new sanctions on Israelis as well.
“The Mount Hebron Fund and Shlom Asiraich generated tens of thousands of dollars for extremists responsible for destroying property, assaulting civilians, and violence against Palestinians,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. “Such acts by these organizations undermine the peace, security, and stability of the West Bank. We will continue to use our tools to hold those responsible accountable.”
Concurrently, the Department of State also sanctioned Ben-Zion Gopstein, calling him “the founder and leader of an organization whose members have engaged in violence, including assaults on Palestinian civilians.”
Elisha Yered was briefly the spokesman for MK Limor Son Har-Melech (Otzma Yehudit) and was arrested on suspicions of involvement in the killing of a Palestinian before being freed by a court.
Meir Ettinger is considered one of the leaders of the Hilltop Youth and is the grandson of Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the Kach party. Rabbi Kahane was himself accused of racism to the point where he was banned from serving in the Knesset, and was eventually assassinated by a terrorist in New York.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir denounced the sanctions: “The persecution of the Lehava organization and beloved settlers, who have never engaged in terrorism and never harmed anyone, are a consequence of the blood levels by anti-semites and haters of Israel that have for years openly supported Hamas, Fatah, and anarchist organizations that attack IDF soldiers. I call for the Western world to end its cooperation with these antisemites, and to stop the crusade against the Zionist settlers and pioneers.”
Bentzi Gopstein, leader of Lehava, stated: “The antisemites of the European Union did not sanction the thousands of Gazans who committed the October 7th massacre, but instead those who have worked for years against those same Gazans. The sea is the same sea, the Arabs are the same Arabs, and the Europeans are the same antisemites. We are undeterred by them, and will continue to fight assimilation and the misconception of coexistence.”
Yered responded: “It took time, but thank God, I have today earned a spot on the list of honor. After dozens of years in power, the left wing anarchists have lost the fight in israel, and most of Israel today supports settlement and both lows and appreciates its pioneers, who have succeeded over the past few years to recover hundreds of thousands of square kilometers for Jewish ownership and to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
“In their despair, they have attempted - as in every generation - to award themselves a consolation prize by sanctioning the Jews they hate. This time as well, as always, they will lose. Israel will remain strong in all parts of its homeland. They will continue to plot and harass in an attempt to create a Palestinian terrorist state, and we will continue to hold the land of our fathers until victory.”