Should the international community sanction Israel over settler violence in West Bank?

What do you mean a trap?

@cantgardenintherain think there was a bit of a trap set up for you there with your response to a question deleted.

Disappointing but not surprising

You actually think the Israeli government are more evil than, say, the Nazis?

Don't twist my words please.

I didn't say 'he did it too'.

You said- 'Have the ruling forces of a country ever been more evil?'

And I said in a direct answer to your question, yes they have, and a glancing peek at history would tell you the same.

If you feel the ruling forces of Israel are uniquely evil in the face of many contradictory facts then you need to examine why you think this.

But you're refusing to engage with the point that it is the state supporting and condoning it that is the concern and the main issue with this, not just individual bad apples it is greater than that and that is the reason for the outcry. If these soldiers were arrested and charged for their sexual assault and child sex abuse, people would accept your point that
Some Jewish people are violent criminals

But the abuse is endemic in the IDF from the top down. If it wasn't the individual soldiers and units involved would be charged and convicted.

Oh fgs. Of course these people represent SOME Jewish people, because they are in fact themselves Jewish people.
Some Jewish people are violent criminals. Just like some people of all races.
My point if you choose to engage with it or not is that Israelis are not uniquely evil amongst all races in the world. If you yourself believe they are, perhaps some reading and soul searching is in order.

@dairydebris “He did it too” doesn’t cut it, I’m afraid. And if you are referring to the ultra right wing, I’m absolutely not that, although I believe that Netanyahu is.

When this level of depravity is openly exercised, what must be happening behind locked doors? In prisons? Detention Centres? How can there be absolutely no international intervention - sanctions would be the very smallest step towards reining in this terror.

This was posted on another thread
Be warned that it’s a difficult read with some detailed descriptions
euromedmonitor.org/en/article/7022/%E2%80%9CAnother-genocide-behind-walls%E2%80%9D:-New-report-documents-testimonies-of-rape-and-sexual-violence-in-Israeli-prisons

What are you saying? If you think that these Israelis represent Jewish people, you have a serious problem.

I'm still utterly confused about why people think democratic nations should behave better than non democratic.

Then you don't understand what underpins the values of a democracy, if they don't abide by the standards they are not a democracy, so have no business calling themselves one and expecting to be treated as one. My point being that some people are evil and carry out evil acts but if the democratic nation and government does not put systems in place to prevent this or punish this there is a problem and the state is not abiding the principles of a democracy. Doesn't mean people will behave any better but it should mean the state steps in to protect its people from these perpetrators. No idea what you find confusing about this. I personally would not be happy living in a democratic state that would allow this depravity, each to their own I guess.

Core Principles of Democracy

• Popular Sovereignty: Government authority is based on the consent of the people.
• Citizen Participation: Voting in elections is the primary method of engagement.
• Equality & Rule of Law: All citizens are equal before the law, with established legal frameworks protecting rights.
• Majority Rule & Minority Rights: Decisions are made by majority vote while protecting the rights of minorities

your obvious attempts to pointscore
I am not trying to pointscore anything I am genuinely taken aback with your comments on this

I'm still utterly confused about why people think democratic nations should behave better than non democratic. Its almost as if theres one rule about whats acceptable for some people and another rule for others... isn't that a bit... paternalistic at best and racist at worst?

I don't buy it Boolabus.

All human races are capable of awful acts and cruelty and outstanding kindness and love.

With your twisting of my words on a different post and your obvious attempts to pointscore I won't be replying to you anyone. Don't worry, I know you won't mind or lose any sleep.

Yes, the ruling forces of many, many countries throughout history have been as evil, and more so. It's a humankind issue, not an exclusively Israeli issue.
Hmmm yes humankind is evil but most democtartic nations have systems in place to punish and imprison such evil acts by their soldiers, it is not state sponsored or condoned. That is the HUGE difference in this

The fact you can read that article and come up with a whataboutery excuse for it is revealing

Yes, the ruling forces of many, many countries throughout history have been as evil, and more so. It's a humankind issue, not an exclusively Israeli issue.

If you believe Jews oops sorry Israelis are uniquely evil then you'll find yourself in some very, very unpleasant company.

Think it through.

I just saw that on the other thread, this has absolutely stunned me, there does not seem to be any depth of depravity and cruelty they will not sink to in their aim to get rid of Palestinians and assume complete control, it is like something from the middle ages.

Yes there should be all kinds of sanctions applied for this evil. This morning it was reported in the Guardian that they are using sexual assault to force people out. Have the ruling forces of a country ever been more evil?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/21/israeli-soldiers-using-sexual-assault-to-force-palestinians-out-of-west-bank-report-says?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Haaretz have reported on the growing pressure from governments to impose EU sanctions and the implications of Orban’s defeat. It’s worth a read.
From the final paragraph:

In addition, a petition calling for the suspension of the EU–Israel Association Agreement reached one million signatures from EU citizens last week, a threshold that, under EU law, obliges the European Commission to address the issue.

https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/2026-04-20/ty-article/.premium/off-the-rails-israel-no-longer-shielded-from-european-sanctions-by-its-allies/0000019d-ab8f-d45b-a39f-ef8f55db0000

Palestinians have long hoped that the West Bank would form the heart of a future state, but settlement expansion has fragmented the territory.
Most of the world considers Israel's settlement activity in the West Bank illegal under international law. Israel disputes this.
Israel has approved 102 new settlements under the current government, compared with a total of 127 settlements existing before it was elected, according to Israeli rights group Peace Now.

Human Rights Watch has described the intensifying violence and displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank as ethnic cleansing enabled by the Israeli state, a charge Israel rejects.

I think human rights watch have it bang on

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-ministers-celebrate-reestablishment-settlement-west-bank-2026-04-20/

Not disputing that there are other driving factors @Islandsofsand

My knowledge is limited but from what I have read, Orban was blocking any progress towards EU sanctions?

I wonder if it wss only Orban stopping the EU moving ahead with concerns previously? The cynic in me wonders if this move by the EU is also related to bombing now directly affecting the rest of the world?

I also wonder if people are more concerned of what is happening in the ME when it’s impacting their cost of living?

Nevertheless- a review of the approach of working with all the countries involved in this bombing is welcome.

Could this be a glimmer of hope? EU are hosting 60 nations at a conference to discuss long term security, stability and peace with the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohamed Mustafa. .

‘Outrage in Europe over the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza drove many EU leaders to condemn Israel’s war conduct and to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. With the recent ouster of long-serving Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a close ally of Netanyahu, there might now be enough political support within the bloc for stronger actions like targeted sanctions on Israeli settlers or even the suspension of some ties to Israel.’

From the Independent today
https://apple.news/Aqa1NRdwpQC6OiUGXyHcyDA

I agree, the diabolical silence from the UK government does not give us hope that sanctions will be instigated here.
Interesting piece by Gideon Levy in Haaretz recently sheds some light on how some Israelis may see an end to this - by severing the tie to the US.

Israel won't wake up one morning and tell itself that the occupation, the apartheid and its endless wars must stop and that it must also listen to the world. Only severing the link to the United States could bring this about.

Pasted here in case link doesn’t work:

After years of Israel doing whatever it wants, the war in Iran may become a watershed of the relations between the United States and Israel. Severing the unconditional link between the two means Israel will have to decide between creating a different Israel – or having no Israel at all.

At the end of this futile war, a glimmer of hope emerges. It's written on ice: It could turn into a disaster, as wars do, and yet, there is some hope. In these days of despair, it's hard to expect any more than that.

The war may generate a fateful upending of the relations between the United States and Israel. What was will be no more. While people in Israel take pride in the cooperation between the two countries and in the alliance of pilots forged over the skies of Tehran, dark clouds are forming around the corner. The more the war's failure becomes apparent, the clearer it becomes that the United States has gotten itself into a mess without a clue as to how to get out, the greater the blame game that will follow.

It will be patently one-sided. The United States will cast all the blame on Israel. This could lead to a domino effect in other countries that are just waiting for the ties between the two to be severed. When the fire dies down, Israel may find itself in a situation it has never been in: a local North Korea. It could become an isolated pariah state devoid of the American support, without which it can't exist.

The unhealthy underpinnings of the ties between the United States and Israel should have been uprooted years ago. Without a logical base of common interests, it couldn't have lasted. The role-playing between them became increasingly blurred over the years, to the point that it was unclear which one was the superpower. Israel did whatever it pleased, and immense amounts of aid flowed its way unconditionally.

In the days of Mr. America, aka Benjamin Netanyahu, who dared to thumb his nose at the United States more than any other previous prime minister, these relations grew to monstrous dimensions. A prime minister undermined American presidents, and his country suffered no harm, such as during Barack Obama's term in office. Settlements, annexation, criminal wars in Gaza and Lebanon,pogroms, apartheid, genocide – and the United States condemned it. Condemned but kept paying, rebuked and cast vetoes at the UN, scolded and sent airlifts with munitions.
Europe was forced to bite its tongue and not take any action, not even after the Gaza war, out of fear of the United States. Now it's only waiting for an opportunity to settle accounts with Israel, as are huge swaths of U.S. public opinion, even among Jewish communities. Everyone has had more than enough of this kind of Israel, with its ongoing dismissal of the international community, its scorn for international law and the inconceivable gap between public opinion in most countries around the world and the positions of their governments.

The war in Iran may become a watershed. The two American parties are just waiting for the fissure to break open. The first to cast blame will be Donald Trump. He will give the signal, and the flood will follow. It could be destructive, but it may push Israel in a positive direction.

Severing the unconditional link between the United States and Israel may turn into the only hope, if it's followed by a profound change in Israeli policies. This change won't happen on its own. Israel won't wake up one morning and tell itself that the occupation, the apartheid and its endless wars must stop and that it must also listen to the world. Only severing the link to the United States could bring this about. Herein lies a risk that the baby – which hasn't been a baby for a long time – will be thrown out with the global bathwater.

It's difficult to imagine Israel maneuvering without the United States. It's true that prattlers on the right are certain that Israel doesn't need America, but they'll have to face reality. Suddenly, there won't be arms and money and a veto at the UN Security Council. What then? Will settler leader Daniella Weiss protect us? Will National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir prevent a UN resolution? Will the settlers' Ford Rangers travel to Tehran?

That day is closer than all the participants in Israel's march of folly think. Israel will then finally have to decide between a different Israel, or no Israel at all.

https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026-04-05/ty-article-opinion/.premium/a-toxic-israel-u-s-relationship-nears-its-breaking-point-amid-war/0000019d-59d4-d759-ab9d-79ddf8920000

Personally struggling with the news feeds and even threads on here - sheer magnitude of the ongoing atrocities committed in Gaza, now Lebanon and Iran and I’m trying to read up as much as possible which has taken me to trying to understand more about the views of Israelis who do not support the actions of their government. (Posters here who are ‘pro Israel’ seem to defend or if not, implicitly support).

Also I posted on another thread a piece by Ehud Shapiro who acknowledges that without resolution to the Palestine/Israel conflict, with a 2 state solution and an end to illegal occupation, the ME cannot begin to address peace.

https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/5819490-palestine-is-trumps-leverage-to-end-the-iran-war/amp/

Hope these voices get louder.

All that said, sanctions need to be imposed for immediate leverage.