@middleeasteye: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was “the right thing to do” and that illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are an “impediment to a two-state solution” as he responded to a question on Thursday about his government sanctioning Israeli settlers. The question followed an announcement by Foreign Minister Penny Wong about financial sanctions and travel bans on seven individuals and the Hilltop Youth religious settler group. Australia’s decision to levy sanctions on Israeli settlers accused of “beatings, sexual assault and torture” of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank follows similar decisions made by Europe and the United States earlier this year.