Singapore imposes financial sanctions, entry bans on 4 Israeli settlers for ‘extremist violence’ in West Bank

Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan said in parliament in September that Singapore would impose targeted sanctions on the leaders of radical right-wing settler groups or organisations responsible for acts of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

He said that sanctions should not be assumed to make a major difference on the ground, and that the larger point of sanctions was to express Singapore’s disapproval.

“It’s often more a statement of principle and expression of disapproval. I wouldn’t bank that, historically, any set of sanctions has been decisive in its own way,” Dr Balakrishnan said.

“I’m not saying that we entered into sanctions lightly. It is, for us, a major statement, but I don’t want to overstate its impact.”

WHO ARE THE FOUR MEN?

The four men are prominent members or leading figures in the Hilltop Youth or Lehava group.

The Hilltop Youth comprises mainly extremist Jewish youth living in unauthorised outposts along hilltops in the West Bank.

Known for its commitment to establishing Jewish sovereignty over the entire West Bank, including using aggressive and militant methods, the group engages in attacks on Palestinians to “exact a price” for opposition to Hilltop Youth settlements.

Lehava is an ultra right-wing Jewish group that has engaged in repeated violent assaults on Palestinians and Arabs.

It was characterised in 2024 by former US President Joe Biden’s administration as the “largest violent extremist organisation in Israel”.

The group also opposes the assimilation of non-Jews in Israel and inter-religious marriages involving Jews.

Lehava has been assessed by the European Union to have engaged in serious human rights abuses against Palestinians and violations of the right of Palestinians in the West Bank to property, and private and family life.