UK to ban extremist West Bank settlers amid Gaza war

The UK Foreign Ministry will ban "those responsible for settler violence" from entering the country, Foreign Minister David Cameron said in a post to X on Thursday. 

"Extremist settlers, by targeting and killing Palestinian civilians, are undermining security and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians," Cameron said. "Our country cannot be a home for people who commit these intimidating acts." 

Extremist settlers, by targeting and killing Palestinian civilians, are undermining security and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians. Israel must take stronger action to stop settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable. We are banning those responsible for…

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) December 14, 2023

The announcement comes on the heels of a similar move by the United States. The country recently admitted Israel into its visa waiver program but has since announced that such waivers will be revoked for "individuals believed to have been involved in undermining peace, security, or stability in the West Bank."

“We expect this action to impact dozens of individuals and potentially their family members,” US State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller told Washington reporters regarding the new American policy.

US has maintained focus on the issue since October 7 

There has been a surge of attention on the issue of settler violence since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, initiating a bloody war in Gaza that is entering its third month.

The NGO Yesh Din, which focuses on settler violence, reported more than 100 incidents in the two weeks following the Hamas attack, charging that settlers have exploited the world's focus on the water to carry out attacks and threaten Palestinian villages.

Others deny that there has been an increase in settler violence since the start of the war, relative to previous years. A November report from Yisrael Hayom reported an "overall decrease of almost 50%" in illegal activities by Jews in the West Bank relative to the same period in 2022. "These figures contradict the claims of the American government," the report said.

Regardless, the incidents have received consistent attention from the United States, including direct condemnations by President Joe Biden. "I continue to be alarmed about extremist settlers attacking Palestinians," Biden said during a press conference in Washington in late October. "They're attacking Palestinians in places that they're entitled to be, and it has to stop."

Under pressure from the United States, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself condemned the incidents but denied that the violence was representative of the settler community.

On Wednesday, it was reported by Axios that the Biden Administration is currently delaying the sale of more than 20,000 US-made rifles to Israel over concerns about settler violence.