Australia announces sanctions on Israelis over West Bank violence

The Australian government on Thursday, 25 July, announced sanctions on some Israelis involved in settler violence in the West Bank, the first time the country has imposed such punishment against Israelis over settlement activity.

Minister for foreign affairs Penny Wong announced financial sanctions and travel bans for seven Israelis and a youth group for participating in violent attacks against Palestinians, Xinhua news agency reported.

"This includes beatings, sexual assault, and torture of Palestinians resulting in serious injury and in some cases, death. The entity sanctioned is a youth group that is responsible for inciting and perpetrating violence against Palestinian communities," Wong said in a statement.

Wong said Canberra has been firm and consistent that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law.

"We call on Israel to hold perpetrators of settler violence to account and to cease its ongoing settlement activity, which only inflames tensions and further undermines stability and prospects for a two-state solution," she said.

Speaking on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio, Wong said Australians should recognize the sanctions as a very substantial penalty.