UK Imposes Sanctions on Settler Groups Financing West Bank Violence, Warns Businesses Against Settlement Activity

Britain said Tuesday that it is imposing coordinated sanctions on seven targets it says finance and enable settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, acting alongside Canada, France and Norway and coupling the move with a new warning to British businesses against activity in illegal Israeli settlements.

The measures, announced by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, include asset freezes and, where appropriate, travel bans and director disqualifications. The British government said the purpose is to “disrupt the flows of finance” that support extremist settler groups and outposts tied to attacks on Palestinian communities. The FCDO added that Australia and New Zealand published coordinated sanctions last week.

The seven targets are six entities and one individual: The Farms Association, Ahavat Gilad, Ari Yshag, Artzenu, Shivat Zion Lerigvey Admata, Eyal Hari Yehuda and Itamar Yehuda Levi. The UK said they were involved in financing, promoting or enabling settler violence and illegal outposts in the West Bank.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said in the government statement: “Today we are acting with our international partners to sanction those who support and sponsor violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. … Settler expansion and violence is illegal and a fundamental threat to the viability of a two-state solution, and to long-term peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis. … These measures show the UK is leading with our partners to target those who are fuelling this violence.”

A notable second plank of the announcement was a policy shift for companies. Cooper said that, for the first time, official UK guidance will explicitly advise British businesses against economic and financial activity in illegal Israeli settlements. That raises the profile of settlement-related compliance risks for firms operating or investing in the occupied territories and places the business warning near the center of the UK response, rather than as a footnote to the sanctions.

The government also paired the sanctions with additional aid commitments. It said it would provide a further 1 million pounds for humanitarian mine action in Gaza, on top of 4 million pounds already contributed. The UK also said it would provide at least 10 million pounds in financial and technical assistance to the Palestinian Authority in 2026.

The coordinated action comes as U.N. humanitarian and human rights agencies have reported a sharp escalation in settler attacks and Palestinian displacement in the West Bank in early 2026. That broader deterioration has prompted Western allies to sharpen measures aimed at the financial and organizational networks behind extremist settler activity, rather than focusing only on individuals accused of direct violence.

The legal backdrop is longstanding but central to the new measures. U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334, adopted in 2016, reaffirmed that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory have “no legal validity” and violate international law. The UK reiterated the same position in Tuesday’s announcement, saying settlements are illegal under international law.

Britain’s move also follows related action in Europe. On May 28, the European Union adopted additional restrictive measures against entities and individuals linked to extremist settler activity in the West Bank, adding to growing coordination among allied governments as violence and displacement worsen.