France, allies eye national measures to pressure Israel over West Bank

PARIS, June 07 (Agencies): France is working with several countries to step up pressure on Israel by pressing ahead with coordinated national sanctions targeting individuals linked to violence in the West Bank, three European diplomats said on Saturday.
The measures, which would include asset freezes and travel bans, have yet to be finalized and countries may adopt different lists of individuals, the diplomats said. The move comes amid escalating violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank and underscores anger in many Western countries toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which has expanded settlements. Diplomats say that expansion is aimed at undermining prospects for a Palestinian state.
No EU unanimity for tougher measures on Iisrael
The diplomats said that with efforts blocked at the European Union to advance tougher measures against Israel, several countries had concluded that coordinated national sanctions were the best option for now.
"There is no unanimity at the EU level, so we have moved to discussions at the national level," one diplomat said.
Two of the diplomats said the announcement would be in the coming days. Another diplomat said Britain and Norway were among the countries France was coordinating with, although it remained unclear who else could join.
Most countries avoid publicly discussing national sanctions for fear that potential targets could shift assets in advance.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said after some new EU sanctions on May 11 that the bloc had "chosen, in an arbitrary and political manner, to impose sanctions on Israeli citizens and entities because of their political views and without any basis."
Seven Western nations, including France, Britain, Australia and Canada, accused the Israeli government on May 22 of aggravating tensions in the West Bank.
Meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike on a Hamas-led police station in the Gaza Strip killed five Palestinians and wounded at least 16 others on Sunday, health officials said, as mediators began new efforts to salvage a fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal.
Medics did not say how many of the casualties were police. The strike hit a police post adjacent to a large tent encampment of displaced families in Khan Younis in the south of the enclave. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the incident.
Israel has stepped up attacks against police headquarters and personnel in the past several months, killing dozens of them, according to Hamas security officials.
The Israeli military issued an evacuation warning to the residents of the southern Lebanese city of Tyre and its surrounding areas on Sunday ahead of possible strikes as clashes between Israel and Hezbollah continue, reports Reuters. The military said earlier it had intercepted two projectiles that crossed into Israeli territory from Lebanon, after sirens sounded in the areas of Yiftah and Ramot Naftali.
A gunman in a car opened fire at three locations in Israel close to the border with the occupied West Bank on Sunday, killing one man and wounding several other people, Israeli authorities said.
The police said they killed the suspected gunman following a brief pursuit and recovered the firearm and vehicle used in the shootings, which took place in and around Kochav Yair, inside Israel close to the West Bank city of Qalqilya.