UK, others sanction Israeli Cabinet ministers
JERUSALEM—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, which has spiked since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited the war in the Gaza Strip.
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, facilitating what they call the voluntary emigration of its Palestinian population and the rebuilding of Jewish settlements there.
Asset freezes
They could now face asset freezes and travel bans.
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.”
UK Foreign Sec. David Lammy said the two men “have been inciting violence against Palestinian people for months and months and months” and “encouraging egregious abuses of human rights.”
“These measures are directed at individuals who directly contribute to extremist settler violence,” said Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand. “The measures are not directed against the state of Israel itself.”
‘Undermining peace’
New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said that Smotrich and Ben-Gvir “have severely and deliberately undermined” prospects for peace and security while “inciting violence and forced displacement.”
“Our action today is not against the Israeli people, who suffered immeasurably on Oct. 7 and who have continued to suffer through Hamas’ ongoing refusal to release all hostages,” Peters said. “Nor is it designed to sanction the wider Israeli government.”
Smotrich said that he learned of the sanctions while he was inaugurating a new West Bank settlement.
