ISTANBUL: Japan announced on Tuesday that it has imposed sanctions, for the first time, on four Israeli settlers due to their involvement in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Hayashi Yoshimasa, the government spokesman, stated that Israeli settlements in the West Bank "violate international law and harm the realization of a two-state solution," according to public broadcaster NHK. "Violence by settlers has been rising sharply. Japan will seek the complete halt of settlements while working with the international community to fully implement the sanctions," said Yoshimasa. The government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has frozen the assets of the four Israeli settlers. Since Oct. 7, when the Israeli onslaught on Gaza began, there have been 63 reported attacks on Palestinian water sources by Israeli settlers, primarily in the northern parts of the West Bank, Yoshimasa added. Source: Anadolu Agency