UK and others sanction two far-right Israeli Cabinet ministers for ‘inciting extremist violence'
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 Secretary 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.'
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'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.'
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.
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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 months-long 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.
Benny Gantz, a centrist Israeli lawmaker and political rival to Netanyahu, wrote he 'vehemently' disagreed with Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, but said the move was 'profound moral mistake and sends a dangerous message to terrorists around the world.'
Netanyahu is the target of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court last year over alleged war crimes in Gaza, part of a global wave of outrage at Israel's conduct during its 20-month war against Hamas. Netanyahu has denied the allegations and accused the court of being biased against Israel.
The Biden administration took the rare step of sanctioning radical Israeli settlers implicated in violence in the occupied West Bank — sanctions that were lifted by President Trump.
Eitay Mack, an Israeli human rights lawyer who spent years campaigning for the sanctions on Smotrich and Ben-Gvir — along with violent West Bank settlers — described Tuesday's move as 'historic.'
'It means the wall of immunity that Israeli politicians had has been broken,' he said. '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.'
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Mack added: 'It is a message to Netanyahu himself that he could be next.'
Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for a future state.
Successive Israeli governments have promoted settlement growth and construction stretching back decades. It has exploded under Netanyahu's far-right coalition, which has settlers in key Cabinet posts.
There are now well over 100 settlements across the West Bank that house more than 500,000 settlers. The settlers have Israeli citizenship, while the territory's 3 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority administering population centers.
Most of the international community considers the settlements illegal, and Palestinians see them as the greatest obstacle to an eventual two-state solution, which is still seen internationally as the only way to resolve the conflict.
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Washington Post
34 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Hamas says it killed 12 Israeli-backed fighters. Israeli-supported group says they were aid workers
CAIRO — A unit of the Hamas-run police force said it killed 12 members of an Israeli-backed militia after detaining them early Thursday in the Gaza Strip . Hours earlier, an Israel-supported aid group said Hamas attacked a bus carrying its Palestinian workers, killing at least five of them. The militia, led by Yasser Abu Shabab , said its fighters had attacked Hamas and killed five militants but made no mention of its own casualties. It also accused Hamas of detaining and killing aid workers. It was not immediately possible to verify the competing claims or confirm the identities of those killed.
Associated Press
36 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Hamas says it killed 12 Israeli-backed fighters. Israeli-supported group says they were aid workers
CAIRO (AP) — A unit of the Hamas-run police force said it killed 12 members of an Israeli-backed militia after detaining them early Thursday in the Gaza Strip. Hours earlier, an Israel-supported aid group said Hamas attacked a bus carrying its Palestinian workers, killing at least five of them. The militia, led by Yasser Abu Shabab, said its fighters had attacked Hamas and killed five militants but made no mention of its own casualties. It also accused Hamas of detaining and killing aid workers. It was not immediately possible to verify the competing claims or confirm the identities of those killed. The Israeli military circulated the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation 's statement on its social media accounts but declined to provide its own account of what happened. Aid initiative already marred by controversy and violence The aid group's operations in Gaza have already been marred by controversy and violence since they began last month, with scores of people killed in near-daily shootings as crowds headed toward the food distribution sites inside Israeli military zones. Witnesses have blamed the Israeli military, which has acknowledged firing only warning shots near people it said approached its forces in a suspicious manner. Earlier this week, witnesses also said Abu Shabab militiamen had opened fire on people en route to a GHF aid hub, killing and wounding many. The United Nations and major aid groups have rejected the Israeli and U.S.-backed initiative, accusing them of militarizing humanitarian aid at a time when experts say Gaza is at risk of famine because of Israel's blockade and renewed military campaign. Last week, Israel acknowledged it is supporting armed groups of Palestinians in what it says is a move to counter Hamas. Abu Shabab's militia, which calls itself the Popular Forces, says it is guarding the food distribution points set up by the Israeli- and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in southern Gaza. Aid workers say it has a long history of looting U.N. trucks. GHF has denied working with the Abu Shabab group. 'They were aid workers' In a statement released early Thursday, the foundation said Hamas had attacked a bus carrying more than two dozen 'local Palestinians working side-by-side with the U.S. GHF team to deliver critical aid' near the southern city of Khan Younis. 'We condemn this heinous and deliberate attack in the strongest possible terms,' it said. 'These were aid workers. Humanitarians. Fathers, brothers, sons, and friends, who were risking their lives everyday to help others.' It did not identify the men or say whether they were armed at the time. Israel and the United States say the new system is needed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off aid from the long-standing U.N.-run system, which is capable of delivering food, fuel and other humanitarian aid to all parts of Gaza. U.N. officials deny there has been any systematic diversion of aid by Hamas, but say they have struggled to deliver it because of Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of law and order in Gaza. U.N. officials say the new system is unable to meet mounting needs, and that it allows Israel to use aid as a weapon by controlling who has access to it and by essentially forcing people to relocate to the aid sites, most of which are in the southernmost city of Rafah, now a mostly uninhabited military zone. Some fear this could be part of an Israeli plan to coerce Palestinians into leaving Gaza. Hamas says it killed traitors Hamas has also rejected the new system and threatened to kill any Palestinians who cooperate with the Israeli military. The killings early Wednesday were carried out by the Hamas-run police's Sahm unit, which Hamas says it established to combat looting. The unit released video footage showing several dead men lying in the street, saying they were Abu Shabab fighters who had been detained and killed for collaborating with Israel. It was not possible to verify the images or the claims around them. Mohammed Abu Amin, a Khan Younis resident, said he was at the scene of the killings and that crowds were celebrating them, shouting 'God is greatest' and condemning those killed as traitors to the Palestinian cause and agents of Israel. Ghassan Duhine, who identifies himself as a major in the Palestinian Authority's security forces and deputy commander of the Abu Shabab group, posted a statement online saying they clashed with Sahm and killed five. He denied that the images shared by Sahm were of Abu Shabab fighters. The Palestinian Authority, led by rivals of Hamas and based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has denied any connection to the Abu Shabab group, but many of the militiamen identify themselves as PA officers. Mounting lawlessness as Israel steps up military campaign Israel renewed its offensive in March after ending a ceasefire with Hamas and imposed a complete ban on imports of food, fuel, medicine and other aid before easing the blockade in mid-May. The ongoing war and mounting desperation have plunged Gaza into chaos, with armed gangs looting aid convoys and selling the stolen food. The Hamas-run police force, which maintained a high degree of public security before the war, has largely gone underground as Israel has repeatedly targeted its forces with airstrikes. The military now controls more than half of the territory. The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostage. They are still holding 53 captives, less than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's military campaign has killed over 55,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not say how many of those killed were civilians or combatants. Israel's offensive has flattened large areas of Gaza and driven around 90% of the population of roughly 2 million Palestinians from their homes. The territory is almost completely reliant on humanitarian aid because nearly all of its food production capabilities have been destroyed. ___ Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Columbia protester and self-proclaimed ‘Jew-hater' had direct link to Hamas' terror cell, disturbing phone records reveal: DOJ
A 'Jew-hater' who protested against Israel on Columbia University's campus and contemplated setting a student on fire allegedly had a direct link to Hamas' deadly al-Qassam Brigades militant group, The Post can reveal. Tarek Bazrouk — awaiting trial after being indicted on three federal hate crimes against Jewish people — was 'a member of a chat group that received regular updates from Abu Obeida,' the official spokesperson for the brigades, according to allegations in federal documents. The accusation is the first evidence of an agitator receiving information directly from Hamas and taking action during protests on the university campus. Bazrouk, 20, who was not a Columbia student, also frequently wore the green headband used by Hamas terrorists and boasted to friends about having relatives overseas who were part of the terror group, prosecutors claim in a letter filed with the court. While on Columbia's campus during protests in April 2024, Bazrouk allegedly texted a pal saying he lit a flare and considered lighting someone on fire, but that there were 'too many' people around for him to take on, otherwise he 'would've hurted [sic] them.' Columbia University said it has no record of Bazrouk being on campus and wanted 'to be clear that this individual is not affiliated with our University in any way,' adding that the school 'strongly condemns antisemitism and violence, and we are horrified by the violence and hate crimes described in the indictment.' Bazrouk, a US citizen born and raised in New York, was also arrested next to the campus in December 2024 for one of the three attacks against Jewish people of which he stands accused. It is not clear how Bazrouk got on campus, which is private university property, but Columbia was beset with anti-Israel protesters shielded by masks throughout 2024, resulting in the NYPD being called to flush them out in April that year. At the time, NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said 'professional outside agitators' were behind the escalated protests, which at one point saw an illegal takeover of one of the university's buildings. In Gaza, Hamas has previously taunted Israeli hostages by boasting that its tentacles are everywhere and 'bragged about having Hamas operatives on American university campuses,' specifically showing now-freed hostage Shlomi Ziv photos of antisemitic protests at Columbia, according to a lawsuit. Bazrouk's cellphone was 'littered with pro-Hamas and pro-Hizballah [sic] propaganda' showing his 'support for organizations that have murdered thousands of Jews and Israelis, killed and wounded US citizens and repeatedly avowed that they want to destroy both the United States and Israel,' federal prosecutors allege. The phone was found to have a picture of a late al-Qassam Brigades founder, terrorist Yahya Sinwar, who is credited as the architect behind the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre against Israel. He was killed in 2024. He also had a picture of Obeida and one of an individual waving a Hamas flag, and an al-Qassam Brigades meme, which reads: 'By God I would not trade the Al Qassam Brigades for the world and everything in it. May God be pleased with them and allow them to break the wicked enemy through him.' Also included are quotes from text messages in which Bazrouk allegedly identified himself as a 'Jew hater,' labeled Jews 'worthless,' exhorted 'Allah' to 'get us rid of [Jews],' called an acquittance a 'F—ing Jew,' and told a friend to 'slap that bitch' in reference to a woman with an Israeli sticker on her laptop, according to court documents. Bazrouk also told a friend that he was 'mad happy' to have learned that certain of his family members overseas are part of Hamas, the filing claims. Prosecutors also claimed that Bazrouk had traveled to the West Bank and Jordan for approximately three weeks in September and October 2024, which also poses questions regarding what he was doing there. Federal prosecutors told The Post they could not go into more detail than what was included in their indictment against Bazrouk, as they build their case against him. Bazrouk's defense attorney, Andrew Dalack, told The Post he rejects any connection between his client and Hamas, or any other terror organization, but did not comment further. Bazrouk's alleged crime streak stretches back to the same month as the Columbia building takeover. On April 15, 2024, he allegedly assaulted three Jewish people at a Gaza war protest outside the New York Stock Exchange. During that incident, Bazrouk allegedly lunged at a group carrying Israeli flags, according to the federal filing, and as he was being hauled away by cops, he allegedly kicked a Jewish college student in the stomach. In a text message four days later, he wrote that if he 'ever see(s)' a Jewish person, he is going to 'boom boom them,' according to prosecutors. He is also accused of slugging a Jewish Columbia University student in the face while allegedly ranting about Hitler and the Nazis in an unhinged flag-snatching tantrum near the Ivy League campus on Dec. 9. The victim in that ordeal, 22-year-old Jonathan Lederer, told The Post at the time that Bazrouk allegedly stole his brother's flag and then hit him for trying to intervene. One month later, Bazrouk again allegedly targeted a protester with an Israeli flag draped on his shoulders at a protest near Union Square on Jan. 6, according to prosecutors. Bazrouk, who was wearing a keffiyeh on his face, allegedly punched the victim in the face with a closed fist. Although Bazrouk was arrested after all three instances, he 'remained undeterred and quickly returned to using violence to target Jews in New York City,' according to US Attorney Jay Clayton of the Southern District of New York. Bazrouk has been in jail since May 7 this year, after feds charged him with three hate crimes over the string of alleged antisemitic attacks. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted. At the time of his arrest, federal agents searched Bazrouk's Manhattan home — where he lived with his parents and other family members — where they found a replica firearm, spent shell casings from a real gun, brass knuckles, and several weapons including four knives, including a switchblade which was in the pocket of one of his jackets and a hunting knife, per court documents. Investigators also found $750,000 in cash in a safe. At a May 20 bail hearing, Dalack said the money was likely profit from his job at Exotic Clouds, a smoke shop where he worked in Hartford, Connecticut. He was arrested in that state in December 2024 for 'operating a drug factory,' possessing drugs and having an intent to sell them. Federal documents detail how police also found 'large quantities of marijuana products' worth $25,000 at the business. Prosecutors argued that Bazrouk should be denied bail because he is allegedly a 'danger to the community and risk of flight … underscored by his support for terrorist groups, his avowed hatred of Jews, his history of violent threats and intimidation, including of a Jewish child at a New York City School, and his access to numerous weapons.' Bazrouk's actions are far from unique, according to Jewish groups. The lawsuit filed on behalf of former Hamas hostage Ziv and others names several groups it accused of having 'acted as Hamas' foot soldiers in New York City and on Columbia's campus.' Many similar accusations have been made against groups across the nation that have staged protests on campuses in favor of Palestinian causes — with many people not realizing they are throwing their support behind terror groups. 'We know groups in the USA have shared and promoted content from Hamas-run chat groups. We see this at protests around the country that have Hamas or Hezbollah flags,' warned Oren Segal, the Anti-Defamation League's SVP for counter-extremism and intelligence.
