The European Council, the top decision-making body in the E.U., on Monday announced it is designating five Israeli citizens and three Israeli entities under its human rights sanctions regime, accusing them of “systematic abuse” of Palestinian civilians in Judea and Samaria.
Announcing the move, Brussels accused those listed of “abuse of the right of everyone to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental integrity, the right to property, the right to private and family life, to freedom of religion or belief and the right to education.”
The sanctioned Israeli citizens are farmers Moshe Sharvit, Zvi Bar Yosef and Isaschar Manne, as well as right-wing activist Bentzi Gopstein and Baruch Marzel, leader of the Lehava anti-assimilation NGO, the E.U. said.
The three sanctioned entities are Sharvit’s Moshe’s Farm community in the Jordan Valley, Bar Yosef’s Zvi Farm community in the Binyamin region of Samaria and Tzav 9. The latter is a popular protest group that is opposed to aid supplies going to Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
The European Council accused Tzav 9 of “regularly blocking humanitarian aid trucks delivering food, water and fuel to Gaza. Tzav 9’s actions include violent protests, attacks against food trucks and the destruction of food.”
A spokesperson for Tzav 9 told JNS last month that the group had “been relating to the blockade peacefully, using our right to free speech to protest against the hijacking of humanitarian aid by Hamas.”
The E.U. claimed Sharvit and Bar Yosef had engaged in violence against Palestinians in Judea and Samaria. Marzel stood accused of “calling for an ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians,” while Gopstein was said to lead an “extremist” organization. The announcement did not specify why Manne was sanctioned, only noting that he founded an “unauthorized” ranch.
In June 2022, a resident of Manne Farm, in the South Hebron Hills, survived an attempted lynching by local Palestinian rioters. The Jew was struck in the head with rocks and clubs and needed to be evacuated to the hospital for treatment.
“Those listed under the sanctions regime are subject to an asset freeze, and the provision of funds or economic resources, directly or indirectly, to them or for their benefit, is prohibited. Additionally, a travel ban to the E.U. applies to the natural persons listed,” the 27-member bloc warned.
Official data shows that the number of violent incidents committed by Israelis against Palestinians in Judea and Samaria continues to drop.
Meanwhile, Judea and Samaria saw a dramatic rise in Palestinian terrorist attacks in recent months, with shootings reaching their highest level in 2023 since the Second Intifada of 2000-05, according to the IDF.
On Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned five Israeli entities and three people, including Manne, for what it said was their support of acts of “violent extremism” in Judea and Samaria.