UK, Other Nations Sanction Ben-Gvir and Smotrich for 'Inciting Violence' Against Palestinians in West Bank

The foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom on Tuesday announced sanctions and "other measures" targeting two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, for "inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank."

In a joint statement, the countries accused Ben-Gvir and Smotrich of being complicit in Israeli settler violence against Palestinians.

"Settler violence is incited by extremist rhetoric which calls for Palestinians to be driven from their homes, encourages violence and human rights abuses and fundamentally rejects the two-state solution. Settler violence has led to the deaths of Palestinian civilians and the displacement of whole communities," according to the statement. "Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights."

Within Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government, Ben-Gvir is the national security minister and Smotrich is finance minister.

The two are now subject to an asset freeze and travel ban, the U.K. government said.

Last year, the outlet Al Jazeera put the number of settlers, Israeli citizens who live on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, at over 700,000.

Also last year, the United Nation's International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion stating that Israeli settlements "and the regime associated with them" were established and continue to be maintained in violation of international law.

A U.N. report from last month found that Israeli settler violence is on the rise and has reached its highest rate in at least 20 years.

The statement from the foreign ministers indicates the sanctions are applied to Ben-Gvir and Smotrich in a personal capacity and that the announced measures "do not deviate from our unwavering support for Israel's security."

"Today's measures focus on the West Bank, but of course this cannot be seen in isolation from the catastrophe in Gaza. We continue to be appalled by the immense suffering of civilians, including the denial of essential aid," according to the statement. "We will continue to work with the Israeli government and a range of partners. We will strive to ensure an immediate cease-fire, the release now of the remaining hostages and for the unhindered flow of humanitarian aid including food."

The move comes after some escalation of pressure on Israel by the U.K. and some other western countries.

"The U.K. has finally sanctioned Smotrich and Ben-Gvir. Good. Now sanction the entire Israeli government and military officials. Genocide, war crimes, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, mass displacement, and land theft aren’t just the agenda of two extremists—they're official state policy," wrote Zarah Sultana, a lawmaker in Britain's Labour Party, on Bluesky on Tuesday.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the move by the western nations "unacceptable," according to multiple outlets.

Ben-Gvir posted a statement on X on Tuesday that said: "While the European colonial countries fantasize that we Jews are still their subjects, the streets of their famous cities are being taken over by radical Islam. But their campaign of appeasement for the Hamas terrorists will not save them. When they finally wake up, it will be too late!"

Smotrich also responded defiantly to news of the sanctions on Tuesday.