Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway said Tuesday they have imposed sanctions on two far-right Israeli government ministers for allegedly “inciting extremist violence” against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The decision by Western governments friendly to Israel was a sharp rebuke of Israel’s settlement policies in the West Bank and of settler violence.
The two ministers sanctioned are the National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, key partners in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, are champions of Israeli settlement who support continuing the war in Gaza.
They could now face asset freezes and travel bans, reports AP.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the five countries said Ben-Gvir and Smotrich “have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights. Extremist rhetoric advocating the forced displacement of Palestinians and the creation of new Israeli settlements is appalling and dangerous.”
Smotrich wrote on social media that he learned of the sanctions while he was inaugurating a new West Bank settlement. “We are determined to continue building,” he said. Ben-Gvir, also writing on social media, said “we overcame Pharoah, we’ll overcome Starmer’s Wall,” referring to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Israel’s government condemned the announcement, which came as traditional allies of Israel escalate denouncements of Israel’s actions in Gaza, from the high civilian death toll to a monthslong blockade that led to famine warnings.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the sanctions decision “outrageous.” He said he had discussed it with Netanyahu and they would meet next week to discuss Israel’s response.
He said that the move threatened to harden Hamas’ stance in ongoing negotiations to end the war in Gaza and to cut short Israel’s operation in Gaza before it achieves its goals.
The Biden administration took the rare step of sanctioning radical Israeli settlers implicated in violence in the occupied West Bank but they were lifted by President Donald Trump.