Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom will officially sanction the far-right Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, for “incentive of violence” against the Palestinians in the Cisjordan and Gaza occupied, said their foreign ministers in a joint statement.
The Israeli Minister of National Security, Ben-Gvir, who has already been sentenced to Israel to incite to racism and support an organization of “terrorism”, and the Minister of Finance Smotrich will now face frost on their assets and their bans to travel from the five countries following the announcement on Tuesday.
The couple – who live in illegal Israeli colonies in occupied West Bank – were the main supporters of the annihilation and expulsion of the Palestinians, the expansion of the illegal colonies and the annexation of the Palestinian lands, in their time of ministers within the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The joint declaration of the five foreign ministers announcing the sanctions said that Ben-Gvir and Smotrich “prompted extremist violence and serious Palestinian human rights”.
“This is why we have now taken measures to keep responsible for responsibility,” said the five countries.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that his government “continued to engage with the Israeli government”, but that he “must respect his obligations under international law”, according to the public broadcaster, the ABC.
“Part of the expansionist rhetoric that we have also seen is clearly in contradiction of these right -wing members of the government of the hard line of the Government of Netanyahu,” added Albanese.
The spokesman for the United States Department of State, Tammy Bruce, described “extremely useless” sanctions.
“We are concerned about any stage that would insulate Israel more Israel of the international community,” said Bruce.
Asked about the hostile response of the United States and Israel to sanctions, Albanese said that it was “predictable, frankly”, adding that Australia had maintained a “coherent position” in its “concern about humanitarian issues in Gaza”.
“We are determined … to continue building”
The Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that this decision was “scandalous” and that his government would hold a special meeting at the start of next week to decide how to respond to the “unacceptable decision”.
Smotrich, speaking during the inauguration of a new illegal Jewish colony in Hebron, spoke of “contempt” for the decision of the United Kingdom.
“Great Britain has already tried to prevent us from regulating the cradle of our homeland, and we cannot start again. We are determined, to God, to continue building,” he said in a barely veiled reference to the era of Palestine’s mandate before the creation of Israel in 1948.
Ben-Gvir and Smotrich regularly called for the permanent conquest of Gaza and the restoration of the Jewish colonies there, which Israel abandoned in 2005.
The leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Canada have also threatened “concrete actions” against Israel if it continues with the renewed military offensive in Gaza and maintains aid restrictions, reiterating a commitment to a two-state solution to the conflict.
In response, Netanyahu accused them of wanting to help Hamas and being “on the wrong side of history”.
The War of Israel against Gaza, which began in October 2023, has so far killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, mainly women and children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
Israel has maintained a paralyzing seat and aid blockade on the devastated enclave, and only allowed a model of assistance supported by the United States and Israel to distribute a certain aid. Their humanitarian foundation of Gaza (GHF) has been widely criticized as a model that arms arms and violates humanitarian principles.
Since the GHF began operating in Gaza on May 27, at least 130 Palestinians were killed after Israeli forces opened fire to desperate people in search of thin food parcels for their hungry families. More than 1,000 people were injured.
Israeli raids in occupied West Bank
Israeli forces have also intensified incursions and a large -scale repression against the Palestinian towns and villages of the occupied West Bank, which have been continuing for months, while offering Jewish settlers to attack the Palestinians, their land and their properties.
Israeli troops made a raid of several hours in Nablus on Tuesday, dismissing living balls and tear gas towards residents of the city of the West Bank, injuring at least 60 people and arresting many others.
The Nour Odeh of Tel Aviv Tribune said that residents of the old town of Nablus were “under the locking”.
“They cannot leave their homes, they cannot have access to any service, and even paramedical paramedics tell us that they find it difficult to reach those who need their help,” said Odeh.
Bakeries, government institutions and schools have all closed, said Odeh.
“This is part of a series of military assaults that the Israeli army led against cities and refugee camps in the West Bank,” she said.
