EU imposes sanctions on Israelis over human rights abuses

Sanctions target five individuals and three entities for actions against Palestinians

BRUSSELS:

The European Union announced sanctions on Monday against five Israeli individuals and three entities, describing them as responsible for "serious and systematic human rights abuses" against Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The list included Tzav 9, a group which the EU said had regularly blocked humanitarian aid trucks delivering food, water, and fuel to the Gaza Strip.

Also on the list were Ben-Zion Gopstein, founder and leader of the Lehava organisation, and Isaschar Manne, whom the EU described as the founder of an unauthorized outpost in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Both have also been sanctioned by the United States, as has Tzav 9, which Washington said last week opposes Jewish assimilation with non-Jews and agitates against Arabs in the name of religion and national security.

There was no immediate comment by those sanctioned.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of settlements, called the sanctions an "inappropriate and unacceptable step between friendships" and an undemocratic intervention in Israeli democracy that harms freedom of expression and protest among Israeli citizens.

"Imposing sanctions on Israeli citizens in settlements or among right-wing organizations is crossing a red line," said Smotrich, who seeks to have these sanctions canceled.

The European Union sanctions, under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, include an asset freeze and a travel ban to the EU countries.

Including Monday's listings, 113 natural and legal persons and 31 entities from a range of countries have been sanctioned under the regime.