The United States and European Union have imposed sanctions targeting hardliner Israeli settlers engaged in violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

The EU said on Friday that the European Council slapped sanctions on four “extremist” Israeli settlers and two entities over “serious human rights abuses against Palestinians”.

The decision was the second part of an agreement among EU member states that saw sanctions against Palestinian group Hamas over its October 7 attack on southern Israel.

The move to target violent settlers in the West Bank comes two months after the US and Britain took similar steps.