Marco Rubio condemns UK sanctions on Israeli ministers
The US Secretary of State has condemned Sir Keir Starmer for imposing sanctions on two Israeli politicians over their government's war in Gaza.
Marco Rubio has criticised Britain and other nations who on Tuesday announced they would break with the US and sanction two ultra-nationalist Israeli cabinet ministers.
The UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway accused Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich of 'inciting violence against the Palestinian people'.
Mr Ben-Gvir hit back on Tuesday night, comparing Sir Keir to Neville Chamberlain, the former Prime Minister who was accused of effectively appeasing the Nazis.
Mr Rubio said the sanctions 'do not advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, bring all hostages home, and end the war'.
He urged the UK 'not to forget who the real enemy is'.
Mr Ben-Gvir, who has called for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, responded to Mr Rubio's post on X, saying: 'History will judge the Chamberlains of our time.'
America's ambassador to the UK said he fully supported Mr Rubio's comments and added that the sanctions 'impede constructive dialogue'.
Under the sanctions, Mr Ben-Gvir, Israel's national security minister, and Mr Smotrich, the finance minister, will be banned from entering the UK.
All of their financial assets in Britain will also be frozen.
Israel faces growing international criticism over the conduct of its war with Hamas.
Last week, the Prime Minister described its actions in Gaza as 'appalling' as aid groups have accused Israeli of blocking food and medicine from entering the territory despite a growing humanitarian crisis.
Foreign Office sources told The Telegraph they hoped sanctioning high-profile members of the Israeli government would make clear that the UK was willing to get tough to allow aid into Gaza and to bring about a ceasefire.
The sanctions mark a significant break between No 10 and the White House.
Donald Trump has lifted sanctions on Israeli settlers and threatened diplomatic action against the International Criminal Court (ICC) as it seeks to investigate Israel for war crimes.
The Foreign Office is understood to have informed the US government that the sanctions were coming on Monday night.
However, the State Department was not given a chance to object or veto the decision.
In a joint statement, the five countries said Mr Ben Gvir and Mr Smotrich 'have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights'.
'These actions are not acceptable. This is why we have taken action now – to hold those responsible to account,' they added.
Gideon Saar, Israel's foreign minister, slammed the sanctions as 'outrageous'.
He added: 'I discussed it earlier today with Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, and we will hold a special government meeting early next week to decide on our response to this unacceptable decision.'
Mr Smotrich once described all the Arab population of the West Bank as 'Nazis'. Last month, he said Gaza should be 'totally destroyed' and its population evacuated.
He also said he would not let a 'grain of wheat' into the territory.
David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, said the pair had used 'horrendous extremist language' and that he would 'encourage the Israeli government to disavow and condemn that language'.
He has also described the conduct of the Israeli army as 'monstrous' and condemned the actions of 'extremist' settlers in the West Bank.
New Zealand's foreign minister insisted the measures were not directed against the Israeli people or government.
'Rather, the travel bans are targeted at two individuals who are using their leadership positions to actively undermine peace and security and remove prospects for a two-state solution,' Winston Peters said.
On Tuesday, the US dropped its support for an independent Palestine.
Mike Huckabee, America's ambassador to Israel, said a two-state solution was no longer White House policy.
He said: 'Unless there are some significant things that happen that change the culture, there's no room for it.'
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