Germany wants the European Union to consider sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers behind a wave of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, a foreign ministry spokesman said, AFP reports.

In a rare concrete repercussion against Israelis, the US said on Tuesday it would refuse visas for extremist Israeli settlers in response to violence in the West Bank since Israel began bombarding Gaza in response to Hamas’ October 7 attack.

The German foreign ministry spokesman, Sebastian Fischer, said Berlin welcomed the fact that the US “will now take concrete measures in the form of entry restrictions”.

It was “important to drive this debate forward at European level too”, the spokesman said.