A big increase in violence on the West Bank has prompted the EU to issue sanctions on several individuals and groups that allegedly organise and finance illegal Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory.

Under the 1993 Oslo accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the West Bank and Gaza were designated as Palestinian territories under a mixed schedule of Israeli and Palestinian jurisdictions. The intention, however, was always for Palestinians to eventually gain full control of all three areas as part of a future state.

But while official Israeli settlements were mainly dismantled, illegal settlements continued with the knowledge – and often the tacit permission – of Israel’s governments over the years.

After a very narrow electoral victory in November 2022, Benjamin Netanyahu turned to extreme Zionist parties to be able to form a government.

The result was arguably the most rightwing government in Israel’s history, including two extreme pro-settler ministers: minister of finance, Bezalel Smotrich, and national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir. Both have frequently sought to undermine Palestinian security and enable further settlements on the West Bank.

In February 2026, Israel’s security cabinet approved measures transferring administrative powers in the West Bank from the military to government ministries. What had previously been a de facto annexation moved a step closer to being formalised.

‘Where is our Hebron?’

These political developments would not have been possible without the support of an ideology which grew in strength during Israel’s conflicts of the 1960s and ’70s. The 1967 and 1973 wars, known as the Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War respectively, polarised Israeli society and paved the way for the emergence of a new religious and messianic wave that strengthened the link between the Israel of the Old Testament and modern Israeli identity.

This was a historical........

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