The European Union announced new sanctions on Friday against four people and two entities that it said were "responsible for serious human rights abuses against Palestinians."
The abuses include "torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" and "the violation of [the] right to property and to private and family life of Palestinians in the West Bank," the Council of the EU said in a statement.
The listed entities are Lehava, the Jewish extremist group known for campaigns against Jewish-Arab relationships, and what a statement referred to as "Hilltop Youth," a term used to refer to a loosely-organized cluster of extremist, often violent settlement activity that is illegal under Israeli law.
In 2022, National Unity party leader Benny Gantz, now a minister-without-portfolio in the war cabinet, called for Lehava to be designated a terrorist organization. The group is led by Bentzi Gopstein, a far-right activist who was convicted in January of incitement to racism.
Four individuals sanctioned
Two leading figures among the 'hilltop youth', Meir Ettinger and Elisha Yered, are also listed. "Both were involved in deadly attacks against Palestinians in 2015 and 2023," the statement added.
Also sanctioned are 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," the statement went on.