Norway has decided to join the sanctions against extremist settlers in the West Bank.
“For decades, settler violence has been allowed to grow due to widespread impunity and a failure to hold those responsible accountable. As the occupying power, Israel is required by international law to protect the Palestinian civilian population. Norway has aligned with the sanctions adopted by the EU on 19 April against extremist settlers in the West Bank.” said the Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.
In April, 19 the European Union imposed sanctions on four persons and two entities:
- Neria Ben Pazi, who has established four of the most violent outposts in the West Bank in 2019;
- Yinon Levi. He has taken part in multiple violent acts against neighbouring villages from his residence in the Mitarim farm illegal outpost;
- Meir Ettinger is considered a leading figure of the Hilltop Youth, a radical youth group consisting of members known for violent acts against Palestinians and their villages in the West Bank;
- Elisha Yered is an Israeli settler activist in the West Bank and known as being affiliated with the Hilltop Youth, a radical youth group that engages in violent acts against Palestinians and their villages in the West Bank:
- Lehava is a radical right-wing Jewish supremacist group led by its founder Ben-Zion “Bentzi” Gopstein:
- Hilltop Youth is a radical youth group consisting of members known for violent acts against Palestinians and their villages in the West Bank.
