UK slaps sanctions on Israeli woman who called for ethnic cleansing in Gaza

The United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Daniella Weiss, a far-right Israeli settler leader, for her active role in advocating the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza and promoting the establishment of illegal settlements in the occupied territories during the ongoing Israeli military assault.

Weiss, 79, heads the extremist organisation Nachala (meaning "homeland"), which is also sanctioned by the United States.

She has long been involved in efforts to expand Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories seized by Israel during the 1967 war.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced the sanctions on Tuesday, citing “continued violence and intimidation” by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians.

According to the UK’s sanctions list, Weiss has been involved in “threatening, perpetrating, promoting, and supporting acts of aggression and violence against Palestinian individuals.”

Weiss gained notoriety following her appearance in Louis Theroux’s documentary The Settlers, which shed light on extremist settler ideologies. In a past interview, she controversially stated, “Gaza Arabs will not stay in the Gaza Strip. Who will stay? Jews.”

She further claimed that Palestinians should leave Gaza voluntarily, “The world is wide. Africa is big. Canada is big. The world will absorb the people of Gaza. How we do it? We encourage it. Palestinians in Gaza, the good ones, will be enabled. I'm not saying forced—I say enabled because they want to go.”

Her organisation Nachala has openly supported the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, calling for the "conquest" of the territory and the destruction of the enemy.

The UK sanctions also targeted two other settlers, Zohar Sabah and Harel David Libi, alongside two illegal settler outposts, Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm, and a construction firm, Libi Construction and Infrastructure Ltd.

Lammy emphasised, “The Israeli government has a responsibility to intervene and halt these aggressive actions. Their continued failure to act is endangering Palestinian communities and jeopardizing the prospect of a two-state solution.”