U.K., Australia, Canada and Others Impose Sanctions on Far-Right Israeli Ministers
Five Western countries announced on Tuesday that they would impose sanctions on two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, a remarkable rebuke of Israel's leadership and a striking escalation of Western pressure on Israel over settler violence in the West Bank and the conduct of the war in Gaza.
Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Norway jointly imposed the sanctions, which will restrict the right to travel and will freeze the financial assets of the Israeli security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir; and the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich.
Mr. Smotrich and Mr. Ben-Gvir are among the most hard-line members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet. Both have called for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza in statements that the British foreign secretary, David Lammy, has previously condemned as 'monstrous.'
'Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights,' Mr. Lammy and the foreign ministers of the four other countries said in a joint statement on Tuesday. 'That is why we have taken action now — to hold those responsible to account.'
While the measures are in response to violence in the West Bank, British officials said they were also calculated to ratchet up the pressure on Mr. Netanyahu's government to negotiate a cease-fire with Hamas in Gaza, at a time when the humanitarian situation in the enclave had become increasingly dire.
The Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Saar, reacted defiantly, describing the move as 'unacceptable,' and saying the government would meet next week to discuss a response.
'It is outrageous that elected representatives and members of the government are subjected to these kind of measures,' Mr. Saar said.
The move to blacklist Mr. Ben-Gvir and Mr. Smotrich had been weeks in the making and came after Britain, Canada and France issued a stark statement last month about the treatment of civilians in Gaza.
But France did not join in imposing sanctions on Mr. Smotrich and Mr. Ben-Gvir, illustrating some differences in how allies are approaching Israel. British officials said they had sounded out officials in the Trump administration about the planned move in recent weeks and had not encountered strong resistance.
In their joint statement, the five countries said, 'We will strive to achieve an immediate cease-fire 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.'
Speaking in Parliament in late May, Mr. Lammy denounced Israel's conduct of the war. He said that Britain would suspend talks on a trade agreement and blasted comments by Mr. Smotrich about 'cleansing' Gaza and moving its two million people to other countries.
'We must call this what it is,' Mr. Lammy said. 'It is extremism. It is dangerous. It is repellent. It is monstrous.'
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