Five countries sanction Ben-Gvir, Smotrich for ‘inciting violence’

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told reporters on Tuesday that the government would call a special meeting early next week and decide how to respond to the ‘outrageous, unacceptable decision.’

By JNS

Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the U.K. are imposing sanctions on Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for allegedly “inciting violence” against Palestinians in Judea and Samaria.

“Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights,” the top diplomats of the five nations said in a joint statement made public by the U.K. Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

“Extremist rhetoric advocating the forced displacement of Palestinians and the creation of new Israeli settlements is appalling and dangerous. These actions are not acceptable,” the statement read, adding that the measures “cannot be seen in isolation from the catastrophe in Gaza.”

The countries are moving to freeze the right-wing ministers’ assets, and they will face travel bans, according to widespread reports.

U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy previously signaled that his Labour government was preparing to impose sanctions over anti-Hamas remarks made by the two, which he called “monstrous.”

“We are now entering a dark new phase in this conflict,” Lammy told the House of Commons on May 20. “Yesterday, Minister [Bezalel] Smotrich even spoke of Israeli forces cleansing Gaza, destroying what’s left of residents, Palestinians being relocated, he said, to third countries.”

“We must call this what it is,” he stated. “It is extremism. It is dangerous. It is repellent. It is monstrous and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”

Ben-Gvir has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt negotiations with Hamas and “destroy, kill and annihilate” its terrorists.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told reporters on Tuesday that the government would call a special meeting early next week and decide how to respond to the “outrageous, unacceptable decision.”

“It is outrageous that elected representatives and members of the government are subjected to these kinds of measures,” Sa’ar stated.

Smotrich tweeted that he was informed of London’s intention to impose sanctions while inaugurating a new Jewish community in Judea’s Hebron Hills.

“There couldn’t be better timing than this,” Smotrich said. “The natural response will be practical, but the verbal response is contempt for the White Paper,” he added, in reference to past U.K. decisions limiting Jewish immigration to and land purchases in Mandatory Palestine.

“Britain already tried once to prevent us from settling the cradle of our homeland, and we will not let it happen again. With God’s help, we are determined to keep building,” the Religious Zionism Party leader said.

“We survived Pharaoh, we will also survive [U.K. Prime Minister] Keir Starmer,” Ben-Gvir stated. “Contempt for the White Paper!”

Smotrich and Ben-Gvir do not have assets in any of the five countries, according to media reports. It is unclear if they have plans to travel.