France will impose measures on Israeli settlers who have attacked Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, its foreign minister said on Monday, a day after meeting Palestinian farmers in Ramallah, who had been targeted in recent weeks.
U.N. figures show that daily settler attacks have more than doubled since Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and the ensuing assault on the Palestinian enclave of Gaza. More than 200 Palestinians have been killed in the violence this year, including in attacks by settlers.
“We will not accept these acts. France will not wait any longer. We’ve asked Israeli authorities to put an end to this and it will take national measures against certain radical Israeli settlers,” Catherine Colonna told a news conference in Beirut after a two-day visit to Israel, Ramallah and Lebanon.
The European Union is studying the prospect of sanctions against violent Jewish settlers.
“This land is Palestinian and will be part of a Palestinian state,” she said.