UK, Canada, Three Others Sanction Two Israeli Ministers Over West Bank Violence, Abuses Of Palestinians’ Rights
UK Canada, Three Others Sanction Two Israeli Ministers Over West Bank Violence, Abuses Of Palestinians’ Rights
Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway announced asset freezes and travel bans on the ministers, both of whom are vocal proponents of expanding Israeli settlements in the contested territory, Associated Press reports.
Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, two high-ranking far-right Israeli ministers, are now facing sanctions from five Western nations for allegedly inciting extremist violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway announced asset freezes and travel bans on the ministers, both of whom are vocal proponents of expanding Israeli settlements in the contested territory, Associated Press reports.
The coordinated decision signals a rare and pointed rebuke of Israel’s settlement activities and settler violence, which intensified following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that led to the current war in the Gaza Strip.
The foreign ministers of the five countries said in a joint statement: “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, who also serves as Israel’s finance minister, reacted on social media: “We are determined to continue building,” adding that he learned of the sanctions over his opposition to a Palestinian state.
Ben-Gvir, the national security minister, also responded online: “We overcame Pharoah, we’ll overcome Starmer’s Wall.”
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the move as “outrageous,” noting he had already discussed the matter with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that a meeting on Israel’s official response would take place next week.
The United States, under President Biden, had earlier imposed sanctions on radical Israeli settlers involved in West Bank violence, a measure that was later lifted during Donald Trump’s presidency.
Israeli human rights lawyer Eitay Mack, who had long campaigned for such actions, hailed the new sanctions as “historic.”
He said, “It means the wall of immunity that Israeli politicians had has been broken.”
Mack added, “It’s unbelievable that it took so long for Western governments to sanction Israeli politicians, and the fact that it’s being done while Trump is president is quite amazing. It is a message to Netanyahu himself that he could be next.”
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and east Jerusalem during the 1967 Mideast war — territories the Palestinians claim for their future state.
Settlement construction, a longstanding policy under successive Israeli governments, has sharply increased under Netanyahu’s far-right coalition, which includes settlers in senior Cabinet roles.
Today, there are well over 100 settlements and more than 500,000 Israeli settlers living across the West Bank. Rights groups argue this expansion further dims any realistic hope for a two-state solution.
