Palestinian Authority welcomes Spain sanctions on West Bank Israeli settlers

The Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry has welcomed Spain’s decision this week to launch sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, after an alarming surge in violence since the Gaza war.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates called it "a courageous decision and an important step in the right direction towards the necessity of imposing more sanctions on the entire settlement system".

Over 450,000 Israeli settlers live in 132 Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank in contravention of international law.

Spain's foreign minister told lawmakers on Monday that Madrid had begun a process to impose sanctions on 12 "violent settlers" in the occupied West Bank, as international rights groups flag an uptick in assaults and landgrabs against Palestinians in rural areas.

The move follows sanctions by the UK, US, and France on extremist Israeli settlers in the months following the October war.

Khalil Tafakji, an expert on Israeli settlements and former director of the maps' unit at Jerusalem's Orient House, told The New Arab last month that these embargoes were largely 'symbolic' and do not have a substantial impact on the Israeli government.

The Palestinian foreign ministry said it welcomed "Spain's decision to impose sanctions on a number of colonialists and demands international sanctions on the entire colonial system".

It also called on all countries to impose sanctions and pressure Israel to cease its occupation of Palestinian land and withdraw its military from the West Bank.

Since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in October, Spain has taken a harder line on Israel than many other European governments.

It expressed its support for South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in January which in a preliminary ruling ordered Israel to take all necessary measures to avoid 'genocidal acts' in its war on Gaza.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates: Welcomes #Spain's decision to impose sanctions on a number of settlers and call for strong international sanctions on the entire colonial system. #Gaza_under_attack#CeasefireNow#Palestine#IsraeliWarCrimes pic.twitter.com/iSXpMocn5T

— State of Palestine - MFA 🇵🇸🇵🇸 (@pmofa) March 4, 2024

Speaking to a joint commission in the Spanish parliament on Monday, Albares said: "The government of Spain has initiated the procedures to sanction a first group of 12 violent settlers."

"We know that silence and inaction always work against the victims."

Spain’s foreign ministry has compiled a list of preliminary names for a possible second round of sanctions, according to Spanish newspaper El Pais.

Last month, Spain urged the European Union to unanimously vote for sanctions on violent settlers but could not garner the support needed.

The country also pledged a further 3.5 million euros in aid to United Nation's Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA after major donors, including Germany, US, and the UK, suspended funding over Israeli allegations that some of UNRWA’s employees were involved in the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.

In December, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged Israel to take action to end settler violence against Palestinians.

"The dehumanization of Palestinians that characterizes many of the settlers' actions is very disturbing and must cease immediately. Israeli authorities should strongly censure and prevent settler violence and prosecute both its instigators and perpetrators," Turk said.