US demands Britain DROPS sanctions on Israel ministers over Gaza action saying Hamas is 'real enemy'
The US has demanded Britain drops sanctions on Israeli ministers for 'inciting violence' against Palestinians.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the travel ban and asset freeze imposed on Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich would not help to secure a ceasefire.
Amid signs of splits between Western allies over the carnage in Gaza, Mr Rubio urged Keir Starmer 'not to forget who the real enemy is'.
The UK is taking the action alongside Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said yesterday that the ministers had been 'inciting violence against Palestinian people for months and months and months, they have been encouraging egregious abuses of human rights'.
But in a post on X overnight, Mr Rubio said: 'The United States condemns the sanctions imposed by the governments of United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, New Zealand, and Australia on two sitting members of the Israeli cabinet. These sanctions do not advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, bring all hostages home, and end the war.'
He added: 'We reject any notion of equivalence: Hamas is a terrorist organization that committed unspeakable atrocities, continues to hold innocent civilians hostage, and prevents the people of Gaza from living in peace. We remind our partners not to forget who the real enemy is.
'The United States urges the reversal of the sanctions and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel.'
Israel foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar has branded the sanctions 'outrageous'.
The measures against Israel's security and finance ministers were announced yesterday.
Mr Smotrich and Mr Ben-Gvir belong to right-wing parties that help to prop up Benjamin Netanyahu's fragile coalition government. Both have been criticised for their hardline stance on Gaza.
Mr Smotrich has campaigned against allowing aid into Gaza, and also supported the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law.
Meanwhile, Mr Ben-Gvir has called for Gaza's people to be resettled from the territory.
In a joint statement with the foreign ministers of the other nations who also imposed sanctions, Mr Lammy said that the two sanctioned ministers had incited 'serious abuses of Palestinian human rights' and described their actions as 'not acceptable'.
The statement added: 'We will strive to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate release of the remaining hostages by Hamas which can have no future role in the governance of Gaza, a surge in aid and a path to a two-state solution.'
Downing Street said the two men had been sanctioned in their 'personal capacities' and not 'their ministries and departments'.
'As the Israeli ambassador to the UK has said in recent interviews, their statements in their ministerial capacities do not even represent government policy,' a Number 10 spokesman said.
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