Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway have imposed sanctions on two far-right Israeli government ministers for allegedly “inciting extremist violence” against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich face asset freezes and travel bans from the five countries. The ministers are champions of expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The five countries’ foreign ministers said in a joint statement on Tuesday that 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”.
