French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot condemned violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank on Wednesday, saying it justified France's recent sanctions against National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
"What is happening today in the West Bank is utterly disgraceful and should fill us all with revulsion," Barrot wrote on X.
"This is why we have sanctioned Israeli minister Ben-Gvir, whose recent comments are unacceptable and inhuman," added Barrot.
France points to Kusra violence as justification for banning Ben-Gvir
France announced in May that it was banning Ben-Gvir from French territory.
Barrot reiterated that additional sanctions could be imposed on Israeli settlers deemed to be involved in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Britain, Canada, France, and Norway announced coordinated sanctions in June against Israeli networks involved in financing, enabling, and carrying out violence in the West Bank.
Israel's Foreign Ministry rejected the measures in June, saying the governments imposing them had failed to control antisemitism and were fueling it through such sanctions.
The sanctions were part of a broader international effort targeting Israelis and organizations accused of involvement in West Bank violence. Six countries, including Australia and New Zealand alongside Canada, France, Norway and the UK, announced coordinated measures in June, targeting individuals and entities they accused of abuses against Palestinian civilians. France had also imposed travel restrictions on Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Barrot's comments also came amid renewed international scrutiny of events in Kusra, near Nablus, where Israeli settlers had encircled three Palestinian homes for more than a week. IDF troops were deployed to the area, while the conduct of settlers there drew an unusually sharp condemnation from US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.
Israeli officials and settlement leaders have also criticized the violence surrounding Kusra. Ben-Gvir said some settlers establishing outposts needed to be stopped, while Yesha Council chairman Yisrael Gantz called the incident improper and unacceptable. The IDF also increased its presence in the village as authorities sought to prevent further friction, according to reporting on the security response.
The issue predates the latest incidents. IDF figures presented earlier this year showed that attacks by extremist Jewish settlers against Palestinians and Israeli security forces rose by 27% in 2025, amid growing international pressure on Israel to take action against those responsible.
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank, territory captured by Israel in the 1967 war, alongside millions of Palestinians.
Nearly all countries and a range of UN bodies consider the settlements to be in violation of international law, although Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the land.