“From Deadlock To Delivery”: Kaja Kallas Announces Measures Against Three Settlers, Four Settler Organisations And Key Hamas Figures Following Months Of Diplomatic Gridlock
This article was compiled and made possible with the help of the following source(s): Al Jazeera.
Europe just moved from words to action. And it took a change of government in Budapest to make it happen.
The European Union reached consensus on May 11, 2026 to impose sanctions on Israeli settlers involved in violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, as well as on leading figures within Hamas, following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
The settler sanctions package targets three Israeli individuals and four settler organisations, though their identities have not yet been publicly disclosed. The measures had been blocked for months by Hungary under former Prime Minister Viktor Orban. That veto was lifted within days of new Prime Minister Peter Magyar taking office on May 9.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas described the outcome as long overdue, saying the bloc had moved “from deadlock to delivery.” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the EU was sanctioning organisations (settlers) he held responsible for extremist and violent colonisation of the West Bank.
Israel condemned the sanctions immediately, with Foreign Minister Gideon Saar calling them “arbitrary and political” and affirming Israel’s position on settlement rights. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir denounced the EU as antisemitic. Hamas also rejected the sanctions on its leaders, with senior official Basem Naim accusing the EU of political hypocrisy and racism.
More than 500,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank among approximately three million Palestinians. Settlement expansion in 2025 reached its highest level since at least 2017.
The deadlock is broken. The debate is far from over. Like this news? Read our previous article here.
