France is working with several European countries to advance new sanctions against Israelis linked to violent incidents against Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, Reuters reported, citing three European diplomats.
According to the report, the countries are examining a series of measures, including asset freezes and travel bans, though the final lists of individuals who would be sanctioned have not yet been drawn up. The diplomats said each country could adopt a different list of individuals to be targeted by the measures.
One diplomat told Reuters that "the expansion of the violence is meant to undermine the prospect of establishing a Palestinian state," adding that several countries had concluded that coordinated sanctions were the most practical option at this time.
According to the diplomats, the difficulty in reaching an agreement at the European Union level has led to a shift toward contacts between individual countries. "There is no consensus at the EU level, so we have moved to discussions at the national level," one of the officials said.
Two of the diplomats assessed that an official announcement on the matter could be published in the coming days. Another official said Britain and Norway were among the countries with which France was coordinating on the issue, though no decision had yet been made on which other countries would join the move.
