US rips sanctions on Israeli ministers, demands cancellation

“Don’t forget who the real enemy is.” After Anglo-sphere states and Norway impose sanctions on two Israeli government ministers, Trump administration condemns the move and calls on all five countries to reverse their decision.

By World Israel News Staff

The Trump administration on Tuesday blasted the decision by five different nations, including four English-speaking countries, to impose sanctions against two Israeli government ministers over their comments on the war against Hamas.

Earlier on Tuesday, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Norway announced that they had imposed sanctions on Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party) and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) for allegedly “inciting violence” against Palestinian Arabs.

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

US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce called the sanctions “extremely unhelpful,” adding that they ignored “the real culprit.”

“It will do nothing to get us closer to a ceasefire in Gaza,” Bruce told reporters. “They should focus on the real culprit, which is Hamas.”

“We remain concerned about any step that would further isolate Israel from the international community.”

“If our allies want to help, they should focus on supporting Special Envoy Witkoff’s negotiations and backing the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation when it comes to food and aid.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio later issued a statement condemning the sanctions and calling on the five countries in question to reverse the decision.

“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,” Rubio said.

“These sanctions do not advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, bring all hostages home, and end the war. 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.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected Rubio’s comments, calling the American response “predictable.”

“The Israeli Government does need to uphold its obligations under international law and some of the expansionist rhetoric that we’ve seen as well is clearly in contradiction of that from these hard-line right-wing members of the Netanyahu government,” Albanese said during an interview with a local radio channel.