AGENCIES
London— The United Kingdom and four other nations imposed sanctions on two far-right Israeli ministers, Itmar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, accusing them of continuously inciting Zionist settlers to commit acts of extreme violence against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank.
Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway joined Britain in freezing the assets and imposing travel bans on Israel’s national security minister Ben-Gvir and finance minister Smotrich as well as be prevented from becoming director of a company in the UK. Both extremists are currently settlers of the occupied Palestinian West Bank.
This action by the five nations constitutes an unusual huge blow to the Zionist government of Benjamin Netanyahu, and it further exposes war crimes and crimes against humanity that are being committed in Gaza and the West Bank since 7 October 2023.
The UK Foreign Office said both men would be subject to an asset freeze, a ban on travelling to the UK and they will be prevented from holding the position of a director of a company in Britain.
The British Foreign Office said they hoped sanctioning high-profile members of the Israeli government would make clear that the UK was willing to get tough to allow aid into Gaza and to bring about a ceasefire.
British foreign minister David Lammy, in a joint statement with the foreign ministers of the other four nations, said Ben-Gvir and Smotrich had “incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights. These actions are not acceptable,” according to Reuters.
“This is why we have taken action now to hold those responsible to account,” the statement said.
“As Palestinian communities in the West Bank continue to suffer from severe acts of violence by extremist Israeli settlers which also undermine a future Palestinian state, the United Kingdom has joined Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway in stepping up the international response,” the UK government said in an official statement.
Last month, Mr. Lammy told British Parliament, “we must call this [crime against humanity] what it is. It is extremism. It is dangerous. It is repellent. It is monstrous and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”
Beyond expanding West Bank settlements, Smotrich has vowed to not allow “even a grain of wheat” into Gaza, vowing the Palestinian enclave “will be entirely destroyed.” He also promised that Gazans would leave.
Ben Gvir has also supported encouraging emigration from Gaza, in addition to comments calling for the Al-Aqsa mosque to be replaced by a synagogue.
Since 2 March, Israel has imposed full blockade on Gaza leaving a population of more than two million people facing starvation and famine. This situation has led to not just the lack of food, but other items including medicine, shelter supplies and safe water.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir responded to the five-nation new policy against Zionist extremists, saying, “We survived pharaoh, we will survive [UK Prime Minister] Keir Starmer as well,” according to i24 outlet.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called the sanctions “outrageous,” adding that the government will meet next week to decide on an appropriate response
According to the Telegraph, the UK Government believes that extremist settlers have carried out almost 2,000 attacks on Palestinian civilians since January last year, which British ministers feel threatens the viability of a two-state solution.
Smotrich once described all the Arab population of the West Bank as “Nazis”, and has always called for continuing the war in Gaza and cut off all aid.
Last month, he said Gaza should be “totally destroyed” and its population moved into a small area. Ben-Gvir called for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, saying last year: “We must encourage emigration, encourage the voluntary emigration of the residents of Gaza.” Earlier this year he said that “there is no need to bring in aid [to Gaza]. They have enough,” as cited by the Telegraph.
In spite of all the racist, unlawful policies and calls of committing war crimes against Palestinians by these two Israeli extremist ministers, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the five states’ sanctions move. He claimed on X that their decision “would not advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, end the war there and bring home hostages,” according to Reuters.
“We reject any notion of equivalence: Hamas is a terrorist organization… We remind our partners not to forget who the real enemy is,” Rubio said, demanding a withdrawal of the sanctions.
As the five nations announced action against the Israeli ministers, the United States imposed sanctions on a leading Palestinian human rights organization as well as five charity groups in the Middle East and Europe, accusing them of supporting Palestinian militants including Hamas, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, last month, the leaders of Britain, France and Canada put pressure on Israeli PM Netanyahu’s government to end a blockade on aid into Gaza, where international experts have said famine is imminent, promising “concrete action” if the Israeli military offensive on Gaza did not stop.
London also suspended free trade talks with Israel for pursuing “egregious policies” in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, and announced further sanctions against West Bank settlers.
In response, Netanyahu, as usual, accused them of wanting to help Hamas and “being on the wrong side of history”!
Tuesday’s joint statement said their action was focused on curbing violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank and was aimed solely at individuals who “undermine Israel’s own security”. But it added the measures could not be seen in isolation of events in Gaza.
the five nations Tuesday’s joint statement said, “We continue to be appalled by the immense suffering of civilians, including the denial of essential aid,” it said. “There must be no unlawful transfer of Palestinians from Gaza or within the West Bank, nor any reduction in the territory of the Gaza Strip.”