Australia has sanctioned a number of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, joining a growing number of countries to introduce penalties for illegal acts against Palestinians.
This comes days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a nonbinding opinion that all Israeli settlement activity on Palestinian land is illegal and must stop as soon as possible.
In February, the administration of United States President Joe Biden blacklisted four Israeli settlers for their roles in attacking Palestinians and Israeli activists, which would mean a freeze on any potential US-based assets.
On July 11, Washington sanctioned three more Israeli settlers and four illegal outposts in addition to a violent umbrella group for settlers.
The European Union joined in several days later, approving “restrictive measures” against five people and three entities responsible for “serious and systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank”.
The sanctions freeze assets, block provision of funds or economic resources, and impose a travel ban to the 27-nation bloc.
Have the sanctions actually curbed the violence or stopped settlements?
The limited sanctions and the tame rhetoric have done nothing to deter the Israeli government or settlers, who have been attacking Palestinians and seizing land at an unprecedented rate since the start of the war on Gaza, which has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians.
Since the war started on October 7, at least 563 Palestinians also have been killed in the occupied West Bank, mostly by Israeli soldiers, according to the United Nations.
There have been at least 1,143 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in that time resulting in casualties or damage to Palestinian property, the UN said.
Israeli authorities have demolished, sealed, confiscated or forced the demolition of 1,247 Palestinian structures across the West Bank since the start of the war, of which 39 per cent (481 structures) were inhabited homes, according to UN figures. At least 2,836 people, including 1,245 children, have been displaced.