Violent assault and arrest of Oscar-winning Palestinian director Hamdan Ballal in the West Bank reflects EU’s failure to put pressure on Israel to end abuses.
The Left in the European Parliament is calling for the European Union to expand sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank following a violent attack on the Palestinian director of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land by masked settlers. Following the assault, Hamdan Ballal was then arrested by the Israeli army, which regularly targets Palestinians and allows illegal settlers to operate with impunity throughout the West Bank.
Although over 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank in violation of international law, only 113 ‘natural and legal persons’ and 31 entities are currently sanctioned under the EU’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime.
Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Palestine, Lynn Boylan (Sinn Féin, Ireland) said: “The brutal attack on Hamdan Ballal demonstrates the increasing violence and repression that all Palestinians now face in their daily lives. The EU sanctions on illegal settlers are far too limited and must be rapidly and comprehensively expanded to address the reality of the problem. If we do nothing, horrific settler violence and de facto annexation of the West Bank will continue.”
The European Union has failed to increase pressure on Israel in recent months and has so far ignored a landmark ruling of the International Court of Justice issued on 19 July 2024 that declared Israel’s occupation of the Gaza strip and the West Bank to be unlawful. The Court added that Israel’s legislation and measures violate the international prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid.
Despite the ongoing violence in Gaza and the West Bank, an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu and an ongoing genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice, the EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas met with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem in recent days and welcomed the close ties between the European Union and Israel.