France weighing sanctions to address West Bank settler violence

'The situation in the West Bank is worrying us': FM France

PARIS:

Paris is considering imposing national sanctions on actors involved in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said ahead of a European Union meeting on Monday.

"The situation in the West Bank is worrying us, in particular because of the too numerous cases of violence committed by extremist settlers", Colonna said.

France in recent weeks opened the door for talks among European Union members on potential EU sanctions against Israeli settlers who have targeted Palestinians in the West Bank, but the matter so far hasn't been met with consensus.

Israel's aggression

Israel continued its brutal bombardment of southern Gaza's main city on Monday after Palestinian resistance group Hamas warned no Israeli captives would leave the territory alive unless its demands for prisoner releases were met.

Israel's barbaric offensive has reduced much of Gaza to rubble and killed at least 18,000 people, mostly women and children.

The Palestinian health ministry said on Monday that dozens of people had been killed in Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip, while Israel's army reported rocket fire from Gaza into Israel.

Only 14 of Gaza's 36 hospitals are functioning at any capacity, according to the United Nations' humanitarian agency OCHA.

"Gaza's health system is on its knees and collapsing," said World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as the agency called for immediate, unimpeded aid deliveries.

On the other hand, Israel says there are still 137 captives in Gaza, while activists say around 7,000 Palestinians are in Israeli jails.

Months of intense bombardment and clashes have left Gaza's health system on the brink of collapse, with most hospitals no longer functioning and nearly two million people displaced.