Britain sanctions two far-right Israeli ministers over inciting violence against Palestinians
BRITAIN has slapped sanctions on two far-right Israeli ministers it accused of inciting extremist violence against Palestinians.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy joined Norway, Australia, New Zealand and Canada in imposing travel bans and asset freezes on Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
3
3
The move, branded 'outrageous and unacceptable' by Israel's foreign minister, risks a row with Donald Trump's US administration, which is leading Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks.
Mr Lammy and his four counterparts accused the two ministers of using 'monstrous' rhetoric.
In a joint statement, they said the pair 'incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights'.
Both must be held to account, they said, for calling for the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza so it could be re-settled by Jewish Israelis, as well as using extremist and violent language in pushes to annex the West Bank.
Mr Ben-Gvir and Mr Smotrich have threatened to withdraw from their government to force fresh elections if Israel ends its war against Hamas.
Asked if the UK would urge PM Benjamin Netanyahu to sack them, Mr Lammy said: 'The Israeli government will make their own determination.'
The Tories' Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel said of the sanctions: 'The Conservative Party had always been committed to supporting a two-state solution — delivered in the right way, and at the right time — and will work with the Government to support efforts to achieve this.'
Mr Ben-Gvir, Israel's national security minister, pledged last night: 'We survived Pharaoh, we will survive Keir Starmer as well.'
Finance minister Mr Smotrich added: 'Britain has already tried once to prevent us from settling the cradle of our homeland, and we will not allow it to do so again.'
No 10 said: 'Ben-Gvir and Smotrich do not speak for all Israeli people, but have a long history of dangerous and extremist views.'
Israel is expected to debate its response to the sanctions next week.
3
Death of Hamas chief Mohammad Sinwar could cause DECIMATED terror group to implode
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
14 minutes ago
- Reuters
Iran will not compromise on right to enrichment, says official
DUBAI, June 12 (Reuters) - Iran will not abandon its right to uranium enrichment because of mounting frictions in the region, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday, adding that a "friendly" regional country had alerted Tehran over a potential military strike by Israel. The official said the tensions were intended to "influence Tehran to change its position about its nuclear rights" during talks with the United States on Sunday in Oman. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday U.S. personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because it could be a "dangerous place", adding that the United States would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. Tehran and Washington will hold a new round of talks in Oman's capital, Muscat, to resolve a decades-long standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions. After five rounds of discussions between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, several obstacles remain. Among them are Iran's rejection of a U.S. demand that it commit to scrapping uranium enrichment.
Reuters
14 minutes ago
- Reuters
Israeli military says it arrested Hamas members in Syria
DUBAI, June 12 (Reuters) - Israel's military said on Thursday it arrested members of Palestinian militant group Hamas in countryside outside Syria's capital Damascus. Syria's Al Ekhbaria TV said one Syrian was killed by Israeli forces and seven were arrested.
Daily Mail
23 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Reeves pours cold water on Nato demands for more defence spending making clear it WON'T go over 2.5% of GDP before 2029 and hinting 3% will be the limit in the next Parliament
played down the prospects of ramping up defence spending today despite mounting pressure from Donald Trump. The Chancellor stressed that Labour had only committed to hitting 2.5 per cent of GDP in the current Parliament. And she suggested the 'ambition' after 2029 remains to reach a level of 3 per cent - even though Nato states are being asked to agree a target of 3.5 per cent at a summit later this month. The blueprint being pushed by Mr Trump and the military alliance's secretary general Mark Rutte would see countries pledge to hit the higher spending by the early 2030s. A further 1.5 per cent of GDP would be required for 'defence-related expenditure'. A timetable could be set for gradually increasing their allocations. However, there are questions about how the UK would fund such an huge increase - roughly equivalent to an extra £30billion annually. Britain allocated 2.33 per cent of GDP to defence last year, and is set to reach 2.5 per cent by April 2027. The Labour Government has an 'ambition' of increasing that to 3 per cent in the next parliament - likely to run to 2034. In a round of broadcast interviews this morning, Ms Reeves said the Spending Review she laid out yesterday included the 'biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War'. 'The commitment on defence in our manifesto was 2.5 per cent… we've said 3 per cent in the next Parliament,' she told Sky News. The Chancellor said the spending plans only covered this 'this Parliament'. She said: 'We will set out costed and funded plans in due course, but in this Parliament the commitment was to get to 2.5 per cent.. ' The generous fiscal envelope set by the Chancellor last Autumn has been put under massive pressure by the economy slowing down and Mr Trump 's trade war. That has led analysts and political rivals to argue that more tax increases are 'inevitable' - although the funding gap will not crystalise until the next fiscal package. The US itself missed the proposed Nato target by spending 3.38 per cent of GDP on defence last year - although the sheer size of its economy meant that dwarfed contributions from the rest of the alliance. Countries such as Germany face finding upwards of $60billion a year more for the military. The increase in Italy would be equivalent to around $46billion, Canada $45billion, France £44billion and the UK roughly $40billion. Spain - which has not invested heavily in defence up to now - could need to allocate an additional $36billion despite its economy being much smaller. The UK's Strategic Defence Review, published last week, recommended sweeping changes, including a greater focus on new technology, including drones and artificial intelligence based on rising budgets.
