Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced the sanctions on seven individuals who “have been involved in violent attacks on Palestinians.”
She added: “This includes beatings, sexual assault and torture of Palestinians resulting in serious injury and in some cases, death.”
The seven were named in Australian media as Yinon Levi, Zvi Bar Yosef, Neria Ben Pazi, Elisha Yered, David Chai Chasdai, Einan Tanjil and Meir Ettinger, some of whom have been subject to sanctions by other Western countries in recent months.
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Australia also said it was sanctioning a group called “Hilltop Youth,” which Wong said was responsible for inciting and perpetrating violence against Palestinians.
The West Bank has seen a significant spike in violence since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
At least 589 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli troops or settlers since the outbreak of the war on October 7, according to Palestinian authorities.
“Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law and a significant obstacle to peace,” Wong added.
“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.
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Earlier, British Foreign Minister David Cameron announced a ban on “extremist settlers” from Israel entering the United Kingdom, in order “to make sure our country cannot be a home for people who commit these intimidating acts.”
The decision follows a similar measure announced last week by the United States, which said it will impose travel bans on extremist Jewish settlers implicated in a rash of recent attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, as well as on Palestinians involved in attacks on Israelis.
In a post on X, Cameron said that “extremist settlers, by targeting and killing Palestinian civilians, are undermining security and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians. Israel must take stronger action to stop settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable.” He did not elaborate on how such a determination will be made, and if a list of those barred will be publicized.
Fifty-six British parliamentarians demanded that the government make the move Wednesday.
“In contrast to the way in which Israeli settlers enjoy a climate of impunity, the Israeli authorities have arrested over 3,000 West Bank Palestinians since the appalling Hamas attack of 7 October. This is often in the most arbitrary manner and without charge,” the signatories wrote.
