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The UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway have jointly imposed sanctions on two senior Israeli ministers, citing their role in inciting violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The measures target National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
The decision includes asset freezes and travel bans, as well as prohibitions on the two ministers serving as company directors, founders, or promoting corporate interests in the sanctioning countries.
Husam Zomlot, Head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK, welcomed the move in a statement published by the Palestinian news agency WAFA. Describing the sanctions as “a long-overdue step necessary to reinforce justice and accountability,” Zomlot added:
“While these individual sanctions represent important progress, the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—accused of committing war crimes and subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant—continues to evade justice.”
In a statement, the UK Foreign Office said the sanctions took immediate effect and were prompted by “continued incitement against Palestinian civilians.” The UK urged the Netanyahu government to halt the expansion of illegal settlements, crack down on settler violence, and denounce the extremist rhetoric used by both ministers.
The Foreign Office cited Smotrich and Ben-Gvir’s “active promotion of hostility and violence towards Palestinians in the West Bank,” as well as their involvement in or support for “cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment and impunity.”
Both Smotrich and Ben-Gvir criticized the sanctions on social media platform X.
Smotrich, posting from the opening of a new illegal Israeli settlement named “Mitzpe Ziv” in the West Bank, wrote:
“While inaugurating Mitzpe Ziv, I heard the UK had sanctioned me for obstructing the creation of a Palestinian state. Great timing.”
Ben-Gvir accused European countries of treating Jews as subordinates, saying:
“We overcame Pharaoh, and we will overcome the Starmer Wall,” referring to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the sanctions as “outrageous” and said a formal response was being prepared. In a joint press conference with his Zambian counterpart, Saar stated that Prime Minister Netanyahu had been informed and that a special cabinet meeting would be held early next week to determine a course of action.
Saar also took to X, writing:
“The British Mandate over Israel ended in 1948 and will never return.”
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 54,900 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
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