EU country blacklists hardline Israeli ministers over Gaza
Both ministers are key partners in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government, and are known for their far-right views and comments on the Gaza war and the West Bank.
The Slovenian Foreign Ministry announced Saturday that Smotrich and Ben-Gvir would be declared 'persona non grata.'
The two Israeli officials 'made genocidal statements and incited extreme violence and severe human rights violations against Palestinians,' the ministry said. It accused them of publicly advocating 'expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank' and violence against the Palestinian population.
Through their statements and actions, they promote the ethnic cleansing of the West Bank and Gaza.
Ben-Gvir, who heads the hardline nationalist Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, oversees the police and has previously refused to arrest Israeli settlers accused of attacks on Palestinians.
Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionism Party, has openly supported the annexation of Palestinian territories.
Both have suggested stopping the entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza as a way of pressuring Hamas to release Israeli hostages.
Just days before Slovenia's decision, the EU's foreign ministers opted to postpone proposed sanctions on Israel over its actions in Gaza, saying they would 'keep a close watch' on the country's promises to increase aid to the Palestinian enclave.
Last month, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway imposed personal sanctions on Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, accusing them of inciting violence against Palestinian communities.
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