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

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The problem of Israeli terrorism is getting worse and worse. Just over the past few weeks amongst other things Israeli terrorists have killed multiple people, commited sexual assault, beaten and threatened to rape young Palestinian girls, continually attacked the residents and property of the only remaining fully Christian town in the West Bank, stolen 100s of sheep from the Bedouin community, beaten activists who are there to provide a protective presence to Palestinians, set fire to property.

Palestinians don't have the right to defend themselves from this violent, rapidly escalating Israeli terrorism. They can't arrest and detain the Israeli terrorists. They are sitting ducks with no means of protecting themselves from beatings and sexual violence. Is it time that the international community steps in and sanctions Israel until they can control their obvious terrorism problem? What else can be done to try and protect innocent people from this escalating Israeli violence?

We are in agreement @Newbutoldfather that Iran are a lot worse as are their proxies. I'm not quite sure what you mean by is that really the point ... this debate got heated after @MissyB1 made reference to people "whining that’s it’s not fair to only criticise Israel” and I responded that "Well ... objectively it's not fair to only criticise Israel".

Apparently that was a controversial thing to say. But I stand firm in my belief that while it's fair to criticise Israel, it's not fair to only criticise Israel.

I think you probably agree but please correct me if I'm wrong.

Here's how you know . If a Palestinian broke into an Israeli settlers house and threw them out the government would take action

Also re that comment that I was indoctrinated as a child. No I just learnt (learning facts isn''t indoctrination)that Israel was the only country supporting apartheid south Africa and signing secret agreements with them to supply weapons and set up joint units for propoganda to justify apartheid

It's worse than that. Israelis trespass on Palestinian land, shoot the old man who owns the land, the old man's son is detained. The old man has to have his leg amputated and is handcuffed by the Israelis to his hospital bed for 3 days. No Israelis were arrested.

Palestinians get arrested for being shot. Nothing happens to the shooter.

https://www.972mag.com/al-rakeez-settler-shooting-amputation/

This is just one of many, many similar stories.

You can't criticise Israel without resorting to Nazi comparisons?

Which secret agreements with them to supply weapons and set up joint units for propoganda to justify apartheid were those?

The Israel–South Africa agreement (ISSA) signed in 1975.

I can't find anything to suggest it set up joint units for propoganda to justify apartheid, do you have a source? They sold arms, yeah, but they weren't the only country to do so.

Agree, a simple search yields results confirming this relationship. AI summary:

Prior to the 1990s, Israel and apartheid South Africa engaged in covert, systemic public relations and information management strategies designed to rehabilitate South Africa's global image and counter international isolation. This relationship shifted from open criticism of apartheid by Israel in the 1950s and 1960s to a deep, symbiotic strategic alliance starting in the mid-1970s. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
The primary framework for their joint information management was the establishment of the Joint Secretariat for Political and Psychological Warfare in 1975. 1]

The Joint Secretariat (1975)
Constituted as part of a highly classified defense and strategic partnership, this body was created to facilitate "propaganda and psychological warfare". The initiative was tied to a broader $100 million international propaganda campaign funded by Pretoria. It aimed to: 1, 2, 3]

• Counter International Isolation: Neutralize the global anti-apartheid movement and bypass Western arms embargoes. 1, 2, 3]
• Frame Shared Narratives: Position both states as forward outposts of Western democratic civilization surrounded by "barbarism" or hostile adversaries. 1, 2, 3]
• Combat Soviet Expansionism: Leverage Cold War anxieties by framing their respective regional conflicts as vital fronts against global communism. 1, 2]

Shared Rhetorical Frameworks
Declassified documents and historical analyses, such as those detailed in Sasha Polakow-Suransky's The Unspoken Alliance, reveal specific overlapping ideological messaging used by officials from both nations: 1, 2, 3]

• The "Minority Under Siege" Narrative: High-ranking officials openly compared their domestic demographics. For example, Israeli Army Chief of Staff General Rafael Eitan noted that the white minority in South Africa and Israelis faced parallel struggles against majorities seeking territorial control. [, 2]
• Biblical and Historical Justification: Both regimes frequently utilized religious or historical concepts of "pioneer states" reclaiming ancient or promised homelands to justify minority rule and territorial control to conservative Western audiences. 1]
• Legitimization of Segregation: The South African government sought to legitimize its "Bantustan" (pseudo-independent tribal homelands) system by gaining international recognition. While Israel never formally recognized the Bantustans to avoid total international blowback, it maintained active diplomatic, economic, and security infrastructure within them, which Pretoria used to claim its separate development model was viable. 1, 2, 3]

Public Confrontation vs. Secret Cooperation
A central component of their information management strategy was maintaining a public facade of distance to protect Israel's diplomatic standing while maintaining deep logistical ties: 1]

• Public Denials: Both governments strictly classified their military, trade, and nuclear agreements. When allegations of nuclear weapons testing or proliferation surfaced (such as the 1979 Vela Incident), both nations issued rigorous public denials. 1, 3, 4]
• The "Jewish Community" Defense: When forced to explain diplomatic ties with Pretoria to Western audiences, Israeli leaders publicly argued that maintaining an open channel was necessary to protect the large South African Jewish diaspora, masking the extensive underlying military and intelligence trade. [, 2]

This joint public relations and psychological strategy lasted until the late 1980s, when escalating institutional pressure from the United States forced Israel to implement sanctions against South Africa, shortly before the eventual dismantling of the apartheid state in 1994. 1, 2]

"there are zero excuses for settler violence"

No one on this thread is excusing settler violence.

The comparison with Hamas was as a result of someone insisting that it’s “It’s absolutely fair to single Israel out (particularly on threads about the Middle East) for reasons that have been explained many times".

As I said before, it is fair to criticise Israel. What's not fair is only criticising Israel.

@Twiglets1 ,

‘As I said before, it is fair to criticise Israel. What's not fair is only criticising Israel.’

I think that totally depends on context.

If someone has a world view that thinks Israel is the only bad actor in the Middle East, then they are probably an antisemite.

However, on a thread about settler violence and whether Israel should face international sanctions, how they compare to Hamas or Iran isn’t really relevant.

Iran and Hamas are already under sanction and Israel’s actions (especially as they are in an area not a part of this conflict) need to be scrutinised without reference to what I would term excuses. These settlers are not carrying out pogroms in the West Bank because of Iran or Hamas. They are doing it as they think the bible promised them that land and the Israeli government is giving them a nod and a wink to take it. And most of the international community is looking the other way.

Most of us of Jewish descent are familiar of tales of our antecedents having to leave parts of Europe in pogroms in the early 20th century. How can we look the other way when similar is happening in Israel?!

A lot of the conflict in the Middle East is nuanced, with right and wrong on both sides. But settler violence is not nuanced at all.

The 1975 Israel–South Africa agreement was a military alliance that outlined the two nations’ cooperation on nuclear issues. According to Wikopedia the agreement covered many different areas of defense co-operation at a time when both countries were unable to source weapons and defense technology freely on the international market, primarily because of arms embargoes in place at the time, in South Africa's case due to apartheid.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Israel criticized the racial policies of South Africa. But from 1967 onwards, Israel deepened relations with the apartheid South African regime, and maintained diplomatic relations with the "Bantustans". Israel and South Africa also had a military alliance, including collaboration on nuclear weapons. Up to 1986, Israel also had a vibrant economic relationship but was forced to sanction South Africa in 1987 as a consequence of American pressure.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel%E2%80%93South_Africa_agreement

The comment did not seem to be made solely in regard to settler violence as reference was made to people defending Israel "over and over again" (which no one had done on the thread in reference to settler violence).

I said, "I think it’s deluded for anyone to think the Israel government is worse than the IRGC even for people who are very anti Israel" and the response was to question whether the IRGC are invading other Countries and carrying out ethnic cleansing (the answer of course is Yes to the former).

"If someone has a world view that thinks Israel is the only bad actor in the Middle East, then they are probably an antisemite" - yes agreed.

@Newbutoldfather I acknowledge of course that it's fair to only criticise Israel for settler violence.

They don't want to stop them do they. It's the Israeli governments plan to segment and cut off Palestinians from each other in the West Bank. They have already installed 100's of huge gates and roadblocks to prevent Palestinians moving around on their own land. The settlers are ethnically cleansing the West Bank for them - if the government did it themselves they would be heavily criticised by the world. If they turn a blind eye while Israeli settler terrorists carry out their dirty work it gets under the radar.

It's all happening in plain sight. No one in the British government has the balls to call it out. They are all accomplices in this genocide.

Bunch of quivering, spineless yes men.

Never again? What a joke!

WTF does that mean?

Holocaust inversion.

Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its allies murdered about six million Jews in a genocide, which has become known as the Holocaust. The Nazi attempt to implement their final solution to the Jewish question took place during World War II in Europe. The first use of the phrase "never again" in the context of the Holocaust was in April 1945, when newly liberated survivors at Buchenwald concentration camp displayed it in various languages on handmade signs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_again#Origins

Even in Israel they see it as terrorism and apartheid.

Ofer Cassif, a politician from the left-wing, Arab-majority Hadash-Ta’al party.

This is exactly what apartheid looks like. This is exactly what occupation looks like,” Cassif noted. “We will not give up! We will continue to fight against the terror of the occupation and for a just peace.”

It means quite simply that humanity was supposed to have learnt from historical atrocities and we were never supposed to repeat them again. That is why the Geneva conventions were brought into law. What is happening to the Palestinian population shows that it is all just empty rhetoric and meaningless!

What do you mean, even in Israel?

Of course Israel is made up of millions of individuals who will hold very different views on things. They don't all think the same way and are allowed to express many opposing views as we are in the UK!

Many people in Israel are against the Settlers.

If so many people in Israel are against the settlers, where are the protests? Why haven't they been stopped? The IDF could stop them in a heartbeat but instead they, at the very least, allow it to happen.

The IDF could stop them but they are professional soldiers and unfortunately are obviously not being instructed to stop them. That is the fault of the Israel government.

There have been many protests against the war in Israel. Such as this one (article dated 26th July 2026)

Israeli police have arrested nine people at a Tel Aviv demonstration decrying settler violence in the occupied West Bank, according to media reports and protest organisers.

Hundreds of people gathered on Kaplan Street on Saturday to demonstrate against the settler violence and Israeli military rule in the occupied Palestinian territory, according to Israeli media. The protest was organised by the left-wing Hadash party and its allies

The Mothers Against Violence protest group said more than 200 people took part in the demonstration, and accused police of using force against demonstrators, including the nine they confirmed were arrested.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/26/israel-arrests-nine-at-tel-aviv-protest-against-west-bank-settler-violence

Israel’s former prime minister Ehud Olmert has spoken out about the current siege in the West Bank said the siege was a “concerted and meticulous attempt at ethnic cleansing”, which left him disgusted and ashamed.
“These are crimes against humanity which are actively supported by the Israeli government and are assisted by the indifference and total lack of action by the IDF and the Israeli police. It’s unforgettable and unforgivable.”

Everyone, Israeli and otherwise knows exactly what the deal is in the West Bank. They know that this is state supported ethnic cleansing. Some people support it like the 22% of Jewish Israelis who want annexation and the 'relocation' of Palestinians, some are indifferent like the British Government who just sit and watch, some are against like the brave people who go to the West Bank and try and act as a protective presence for the victims of Israeli violence.

It's a rotten situation but one thing is certain no one can pretend that they didn't know what was happening.

Source for 22% of Jewish Israelis being pro the ethnic cleansing of the West Bank - https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/new-poll-38-of-jewish-israelis-back-annexing-west-bank-35-want-to-divide-it-up/

Just a few hundred protestors then, out of 10 million civilians.