the foreign ministers of Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway announced in a joint statement "the imposition of sanctions and other measures targeting National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for their incitement to violence against Palestinians in the West Bank."
According to the British newspaper, The Times, the sanctions include freezing the two ministers' assets, banning them from entering the country, and prohibiting financial institutions from establishing relations with them.
Commenting on the decision, US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said, "We see this as unhelpful. This does nothing to move us closer to a ceasefire in Gaza."
She believed that sanctions should focus on Hamas, adding, "We are concerned about any step that further isolates Israel from the international community."
In turn, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on the X platform on Monday: "These sanctions do not advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, return all hostages to their homes, and end the war."
"We reject any notion of parity and remind our partners not to forget who the real enemy is," he said, continuing, "The United States urges the lifting of sanctions and stands with Israel."
For his part, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said during a press conference: "We were informed of the United Kingdom's decision to place two of our ministers on the UK's sanctions list. It is shameful that elected representatives of the public and members of the government are subjected to such measures."
Palestinian welcome
In contrast, the official Palestinian news agency (WAFA) quoted the Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom, Husam Zomlot, as saying on Tuesday, "This is a long-awaited and necessary step towards promoting justice and accountability."
"While these individual designations are an important step forward, the Israeli government, led by a prime minister wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, remains immune from accountability," Zomlot added.
He continued: "Therefore, we call on the United Kingdom to impose government-level sanctions on Israel and a complete arms embargo on the country, in line with international and British law, including the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion of July 2024."
On July 19, 2024, the International Court of Justice, during a public session in The Hague, stated that "the continued presence of the State of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory is illegal," stressing that the Palestinians have "the right to self-determination" and that "the Israeli settlements in the occupied territories must be evacuated."
"While welcoming today's announcement, it must be accompanied, not a substitute for, the UK government's commitment to supporting the Palestinian people's right to self-determination," Zomlot said, calling on the UK to recognize the State of Palestine at the United Nations next week.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with American support, has been committing genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and displacement, ignoring international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.
The genocide left approximately 182,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing. Hundreds of thousands were displaced, and famine claimed the lives of many, including children.
Since the beginning of the genocide, the two ministers have repeatedly called for the reoccupation of the Gaza Strip, the expulsion of Palestinian citizens from it, the establishment of settlements on their land, and the prevention of the entry of humanitarian relief aid.
