Netanyahu Condemns EU Sanctions on Israeli Settlers, Accuses Bloc of ‘Moral Bankruptcy

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has criticised the European Union’s latest sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers, accusing the bloc of creating a false equivalence between Israeli citizens and Hamas militants.

In a statement posted on X on Monday, Netanyahu said the EU had shown “moral bankruptcy” by sanctioning Israeli settlers while also targeting Hamas figures.

“When Israel and the U.S. do Europe’s dirty work, fighting for civilisation against jihadist fanatics in Iran and elsewhere, the EU shows its moral bankruptcy by presenting a false symmetry between Israeli citizens and Hamas terrorists,” he wrote.

Earlier, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced that EU member states had unanimously approved new sanctions against Israeli settlers accused of violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Kallas also confirmed that the bloc imposed fresh sanctions on senior Hamas members, saying, “Extremism and violence have consequences.”

Netanyahu rejected the measures, insisting that sanctions against Jews living in what Israel calls Judea and Samaria — internationally known as the West Bank — were unacceptable.

He added that Israel would continue to defend the rights of its citizens to live “in the heart of our ancestral homeland.”

Israel captured the West Bank during the Six-Day War in 1967. The territory is home to about three million Palestinians and roughly half a million Israeli settlers.

Most countries consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law. According to the United Nations, more than 1,800 settler attacks causing casualties or property damage were recorded across about 280 Palestinian communities in the West Bank in 2025 alone.