In a significant development, Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo declared a travel ban on Israeli settlers from the West Bank. De Croo’s announcement was in line with the United States’ recent proclamation of travel restrictions against those disturbing the peace, security, and stability in the West Bank. The moves fold into the broader context of the escalating Gaza conflict, now entering its third month.
Alongside the American-led sanctions, Belgium plans to impose its own punitive measures on the identified parties. Belgium’s Vice Prime Minister, Petra De Sutter, emphasized in her remarks on the same day that their position is based on the view that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank stands in violation of international law. De Sutter proposed that Belgium should lobby for an EU-wide ban on the West Bank settlers.
Violence has soared in the West Bank since the inception of the Israel-Hamas War on October 7. As per the Biosecurity Officer’s Report from the UN Human Rights Office, out of the 132 Palestinians killed in the West Bank during that period, 124 were reportedly killed by Israeli forces.
Approximately 1,000 Palestinians have been forced to relocate from 15 West Bank herding communities due to the intimidation tactics of the Israeli forces and settlers, according to the same UN report. Médecins Sans Frontières has also reported that roughly 6,000 Gazans working in Israel before the war now face displacement across the West Bank after having their work permits annulled. The UNRWA statistics confirm that as of now, the West Bank is home to 871,000 registered refugees living in 19 refugee camps.
The Israel Policy Forum defines settlers in the West Bank as communities “in territories acquired by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War that are not under Israeli sovereignty.” Both the US and the international community have expressed discontent with Israel’s settlement policies in the West Bank. In July, despite international censure, the Israeli government approved plans to enlarge the West Bank settlements.
This ban announced by Belgium, part of a growing international response, underlines the escalating severity of the West Bank crisis, stressing the urgent need for a resolution.
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