Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway said overnight they have imposed sanctions on two far-right Israeli government ministers for allegedly "inciting extremist violence" against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The decision by Western governments friendly to Israel was a sharp rebuke of Israel's settlement policies in the West Bank and of settler violence, which has spiked since Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack ignited the war in the Gaza Strip.
US has condemned the sanctions levelled by NZ, Australia, Canada, the UK and Norway on Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. (Source: 1News)
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, key partners in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, are champions of Israeli settlement who continuing the war in Gaza, facilitating what they call the voluntary emigration of its Palestinian population and the rebuilding of Jewish settlements there.
They could now face asset freezes and travel bans.
In a t statement, the foreign ministers of the five countries said Ben-Gvir and Smotrich "have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights. Extremist rhetoric advocating the forced displacement of Palestinians and the creation of new Israeli settlements is appalling and dangerous".
Foreign Minister responds
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the pair have used their leadership positions to advocate for the annexation of Palestinian land and the expansion of illegal settlements, undermining the two state solution ed by New Zealand.
The pair are banned from travelling to New Zealand.
“Our action today is not against the Israeli people, who suffered immeasurably on October 7 and who have continued to suffer through Hamas’ ongoing refusal to release all hostages," Peters said in a statement.
"Nor is it designed to sanction the wider Israeli 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."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the sanctions, and said they did not advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, bring 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," he wrote on X.
"The United States urges the reversal of the sanctions and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel."
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the two men "have been inciting violence against Palestinian people for months and months and months" and "encouraging egregious abuses of human rights".
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"These measures are directed at individuals who directly contribute to extremist settler violence," said Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand. "The measures are not directed against the state of Israel itself."
Smotrich wrote on social media that he learned of the sanctions while he was inaugurating a new West Bank settlement. "We are determined to continue building," he said.
Ben-Gvir, also writing on social media, said "we overcame Pharoah, we’ll overcome Starmer's Wall," referring to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Israel's government condemned the announcement, which came as traditional allies of Israel escalate denouncements of Israel's actions in Gaza, from the high civilian death toll to a monthslong blockade that led to famine warnings.
Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the sanctions decision "outrageous". He said he had discussed it with Netanyahu and they would meet next week to discuss Israel's response.
He said that the move threatened to harden Hamas' stance in ongoing negotiations to end the war in Gaza and to cut short Israel's operation in Gaza before it achieves its goals.
Benny Gantz, an centrist Israeli lawmaker an political rival to Netanyahu, wrote he "vehemently" disagreed with Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, but said the move was "profound moral mistake and sends a dangerous message to terrorists around the world".
Netanyahu is the target of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court last year over alleged war crimes in Gaza, part of a global wave of outrage at Israel's conduct during its 20-month war against Hamas. Netanyahu has denied the allegations and accused the court of being biased against Israel.
The Biden istration took the rare step of sanctioning radical Israeli settlers implicated in violence in the occupied West Bank — sanctions that were lifted by US President Donald Trump.
Eitay Mack, an Israeli human rights lawyer who spent years campaigning for the sanctions on Smotrich and Ben-Gvir — along with violent West Bank settlers — described Wednesday's move as "historic".
"It means the wall of immunity that Israeli politicians had has been broken," he said. "It's unbelievable that it took so long for Western governments to sanction Israeli politicians, and the fact that it's being done while Trump is president is quite amazing."
Mack added: "It is a message to Netanyahu himself that he could be next".
Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for a future state.
Successive Israeli governments have promoted settlement growth and construction stretching back decades. It has exploded under Netanyahu’s far-right coalition, which has settlers in key Cabinet posts.
There are now well over 100 settlements across the West Bank that house more than 500,000 settlers. The settlers have Israeli citizenship, while the territory's 3 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority istering population centers.
Most of the international community considers the settlements illegal, and Palestinians see them as the greatest obstacle to an eventual two-state solution, which is still seen internationally as the only way to resolve the conflict.
Additional reporting by 1News
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