The European Union announced sanctions on Monday against five Israeli individuals and three entities, describing them as responsible for “serious and systematic human rights abuses” against Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The list included Tzav 9, a group that it said had regularly blocked humanitarian aid trucks delivering food, water, and fuel to the Gaza Strip.
Also on the list were Ben-Zion Gopstein, founder and leader of the Lehava organisation, and Isaschar Manne, whom the EU described as the founder of an unauthorised outpost in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Both have also been sanctioned by the United States, as has Tzav 9, which Washington said last week opposes Jewish assimilation with non-Jews and agitates against Arabs in the name of religion and national security.
There was no immediate comment by those sanctioned.
The European Union sanctions, under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, include an asset freeze and a travel ban to the EU countries.
Including Monday’s listings, 113 natural and legal persons and 31 entities from a range of countries have been sanctioned under the Regime.
