Britain on Thursday imposed a travel ban on Israeli settlers accused of fomenting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank amid a surge in attacks since the war in Gaza began.
“Extremist settlers, by targeting and killing Palestinian civilians, are undermining security and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians,” Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said.
“Israel must take stronger action to stop settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable,” he said.
“We are banning those responsible for settler violence from entering the UK to make sure our country cannot be a home for people who commit these intimidating acts.”
The sanctions come after a US travel ban announced last week against the Jewish settlers, and as the European Union mulls its own sanctions against them.
On Wednesday, Lord Cameron announced sanctions against seven further individuals linked to Hamas to "isolate them further".
UK leaders have been stepping up their warnings about the fallout of Israel’s war. Echoing US officials, Rishi Sunak said on Wednesday that “too many” Palestinians were dying in Gaza. The former head of MI6 then warned of a potential surge in homegrown terrorism.
The White House is said to be delaying the sale to Israeli police of more than 20,000 US-made rifles over concerns about increasing attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.
US officials are concerned that the rifles may be distributed by Israel’s ultranationalist security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, directly to settlers rather than to the police force, according to the Washington Post.
Since the Hamas attacks of October 7 sparked the Gaza conflict, the United Nations says that hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Some 320 settler attacks have taken place against Palestinians in that time, according to the UN, amid allegations that far-right members of the Israeli government such as Ben Gvir are inflaming tensions among the settlers.
