New Zealand issues travel bans on ‘extremist Israeli settlers’ involved in West Bank violence

New Zealand joins US and UK, travel bans target Israeli settlers involved in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank

New Zealand issued travel bans against a number of “extremist Israeli settlers,” joining the US and other nations in cracking down on individuals who commit violent attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank.

New Zealand’s consistent position is that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are a violation of international law, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement on Thursday.

“Settlements undermine the prospects for a viable two-state solution,” he said. “Recent statements by some Israeli ministers about plans for further settlement construction are of serious concern and will raise tensions further between Israelis and Palestinians.”

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden signed an executive order allowing the US to impose more sanctions on Israeli settlers — and possibly government officials — involved in violence against Palestinians, while the UK also issued a travel ban and imposed financial sanction against four Israeli settlers.

New Zealand also Thursday designated Hamas in its entirety — including its political wing — a terrorist entity following the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel.