PARIS, France: France is mulling over extending sanctions on Israeli settlers responsible for violence against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank, President Emmanuel Macron’s office said.
It said president Macron spoke with Jordan’s King Abdullah II on the issue and the two leaders “firmly condemned recent Israeli announcements about settlements in the West Bank. They termed the same contrary to international law, Macron’s office said in a statement.
Tensions have risen in the occupied territories since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, sparking the Gaza war. At least 488 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since October 7, according to Palestinian officials.
In February, 28 radical Israeli settlers were banned from entering French territory. Last week, the European Union sanctioned four Israeli settlers and two settler groups for violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Israeli officials have declared about 1,100 hectares (2,720 acres) in the West Bank as “state land” since the start of the year, twice as much as in the previous record year in 1999, according to a report by settlement monitor Peace Now.
This situation gives the government complete control over how the land is used and inevitably leads to being off-limits to Palestinians.
Currently, about 490,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, along with 3 million Palestinians.
President Macron and King Abdullah also spoke of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and expressed deep concern at the prospect of an Israeli military attack on Rafah, where more than 1.5 million people have fled, said the statement.
According to the statement, the two also insisted on the need of an immediate and durable ceasefire to allow massive deliveries of urgent aid and the protection of civilians.
Macron also echoed that the release of hostages held by Hamas was an absolute priority for France.
