Australia, the United Kingdom, and their allies have committed to imposing targeted sanctions and other measures in response to a sharp increase in violence in the Middle East, where perpetrators are said to enjoy near impunity. This decision follows a scathing United Nations report documenting a surge in attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the Occupied West Bank.
Rising Violence in the West Bank
According to the United Nations, at least seven Palestinians have been killed and more than 800 injured over the past year, representing a 130 percent increase compared to 2024. The violence has escalated dramatically since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which left over 1,200 Israelis dead, and as Israel’s government approves a rapid expansion of settlements, widely considered illegal under international law.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, France, Norway, and the United Kingdom pledged to respond to the deteriorating situation in the West Bank through coordinated action. The statement said they would introduce sanctions and other measures to hold extremist settlers accountable for the horrific levels of violence against Palestinian civilians. It noted that extremist violent settlers, backed by supporters, continue to attack Palestinians and abuse their human rights, using violence to displace people, destroy property, and perpetuate the illegal settlement enterprise. This undermines the viability of a Palestinian state and the prospects for peaceful coexistence.
Call for Accountability
The ministers emphasized that violent settlers have long acted with near impunity amid an explosion of illegal Israeli settlements across the West Bank. In some cases, settler violence occurs under the protection of Israel’s security forces. They urged the Israeli government to ensure meaningful accountability, including swift and thorough investigations of every attack, action against outposts and organizations that allow violence to flourish, and an end to incitement of violence.
This development coincides with a report from Amnesty International accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, particularly targeting nomadic Bedouin and herding communities. Amnesty International’s Secretary-General, Agnès Callamard, stated that over the past three and a half years, Israeli authorities have accelerated a state-sponsored campaign of ethnic cleansing, uprooting, dispossessing, and forcibly transferring Palestinian communities. She emphasized that this is not the work of rogue actors or extremist settlers but deliberate, state-led annexation in violation of international law.
Foreign Minister’s Remarks
During Senate estimates, Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong expressed her wish for the people of Palestine to live in security behind agreed borders and for peace with the people of Israel. Her comments followed the Albanese government’s first-ever sanctions on Israeli settler farms in the West Bank. Australia and its allies, including Canada and the UK, recognized the state of Palestine last year, though full representation is contingent on reforms to the Palestinian Authority.
The UN report also noted that Israeli authorities are directly involved in settler attacks through financial and military support and by granting impunity from prosecution. Earlier this month, Israel’s Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, announced a major expansion of settlements, approving over 2,100 new homes and legitimizing existing outposts. The report also documented 249 cases of execution and severe physical violence between 2024 and 2025 attributed to Hamas, along with a notable increase in attacks on Israeli civilians by Palestinian armed groups in 2023.
