Australia sanctions Israeli settlers, youth group over West Bank violence

Australia on Thursday imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on seven Israeli settlers and a youth group it said had been involved in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

The unnamed group was responsible for inciting and perpetrating violence against Palestinians, while the settlers had been involved in beatings, sexual assault and torture and in some cases death, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said.

"We call on Israel to hold perpetrators of settler violence to account and to cease its ongoing settlement activity, which only inflames tensions and further undermines stability and prospects for a two-state solution," Wong said in a statement.

The move by the Australian government comes after allies Britain, the United States, Canada and Japan sanctioned some Israeli settlers in response to the violence in the West Bank.

Australia considers Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian Territories illegal and an obstacle to peace.

Reuters