Brussels: The EU Council today decided to expand the scope of the EU's restrictive measures regarding Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad to also target members of the Political Bureau ('Politburo') of Hamas who promote, defend and justify violent actions.
According to Emirates News Agency, the decision follows the political agreement reached among EU foreign ministers on 11 May 2026. The members of the Politburo play a significant role in the decision-making process and exert considerable influence over the actions of the military wing of Hamas, including its violent actions. Therefore, they bear overall responsibility for those actions.
With this decision, the Council lists ten individuals, members of the Politburo of Hamas. In their capacity as decision-makers of the organisation, the members of the Politburo have knowledge of the planning, preparation and execution of violent actions by Hamas. Furthermore, they actively defend and justify such violent actions, often publicly warning and threatening future attacks.
With today's listings, the restrictive measures under this framework now apply to 21 natural persons and three entities. The applicable restrictions to those listed are the travel ban and the asset freeze, which includes the prohibition on making funds or economic resources available to those listed, either directly or indirectly.
On 19 January 2024, the Council established a dedicated framework of restrictive measures to hold accountable any individual or entity who supports, facilitates or enables violent actions by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). This regime also complements the restrictive measures previously adopted against Hamas and the PIJ under Common Position 2001/931/CFSP (the 'EU terrorist list').
In its conclusions of 21 and 22 March 2024, the European Council called on the Council to accelerate work on the adoption of further relevant restrictive measures against Hamas. On 28 June 2024, the Council added six individuals and three entities to the sanctions list, bringing up the total to 12 individuals and three entities. In January 2026, the Council decided to extend the restrictive measures under this framework by one year, until 20 January 2027.