The UK has sanctioned two Israeli government ministers for “inciting violence” and abuses of Palestinian human rights, David Lammy has said. Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s security minister and finance minister respectively, will be subject to a travel ban and asset freeze.
The UK is taking the action to ramp up pressure on Israel alongside Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway. Mr Lammy said the two Israeli ministers had been “inciting violence against Palestinian people for months and months and months, they have been encouraging egregious abuses of human rights”.
In a joint statement with foreign ministers from the four other countries who have announced sanctions, the Foreign Secretary said the two senior Israelis had also incited “serious abuses of Palestinian human rights”. The statement added: “These actions are not acceptable. This is why we have taken action now – to hold those responsible to account.”
Downing Street said the two ministers had been sanctioned in their “personal capacities”. Mr Smotrich and Mr Ben-Gvir both belong to right-wing parties which help to prop up Benjamin Netanyahu’s fragile coalition government.
Both have been criticised for their hardline stance on the war in Gaza. Mr Smotrich has campaigned against allowing aid into Gaza, and also supported the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law. Meanwhile, Mr Ben-Gvir has called for Gaza’s people to be resettled from the territory.
Asked if the Israeli government’s actions in the Palestinian territories amounted to ethnic cleansing, Mr Lammy told reporters at the Foreign Office: “I was clear to the House of Commons back in September that we did believe that there was a clear risk of a breach of international humanitarian law, and that’s why we made a decision to suspend arms (sales).
“Today we are making a decision also to stand against those who encourage abuses of human rights, also to stand against those who encourage violence against Palestinian people.”
The Foreign Secretary did not directly answer when asked why similar action had not been taken against Mr Netanyahu, and called on the Israeli government to “disavow and condemn” the language used by the two ministers. Asked whether the UK would encourage Mr Netanyahu to sack the ministers, Mr Lammy said: “The Israeli government will make their own determination.”
But from the UK’s perspective, he said: “We have to be clear that we act when we see these egregious individuals encouraging – encouraging – abuses of human rights in this way.” A No 10 spokesman said the sanctions applied “in their personal capacities, not their ministries and departments”.
“Ben-Gvir and Smotrich do not speak for all Israeli people … and have a long history of dangerous extremist and inflammatory views. As the Israeli ambassador to the UK has said in recent interviews, their statements in their ministerial capacities do not even represent government policy.
“Their agenda and actions undermine the interests of Israeli people, including security, many Israelis see this.” Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar said it was “outrageous” that the UK had sanctioned the two ministers.
He also said he had spoken with Mr Netanyahu and that an Israeli response would be decided at a “special government meeting early next week”. Following the sanctions, Mr Ben-Gvir said: “While the European colonial countries fantasise 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.” The UK and its allies have increased pressure on Israel in recent months amid ongoing aid shortages in Gaza, as well as suggestions it could launch a new large-scale offensive into the territory.
Reports suggest only scarce amounts of aid are making it into the hands of Gazans, amid a new aid initiative backed by the US and Israel, which has replaced the previous UN-run programme. The slow flow of food and medicines has prompted warnings of famine and starvation among the territory’s population.
In May, Mr Lammy paused negotiations towards a UK-Israel trade deal as the Government sought to pressure Israel to abandon its planned offensive into Gaza.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, France’s President Emmanuel Macron and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney also wrote a joint statement last month warning that Israel’s leaders risked “breaching International Humanitarian Law”, and calling for more aid to be allowed into Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu responded by claiming the three leaders were on the “wrong side” of history. In September last year, the Government halted 30 out of around 350 arms sales licences to Israel, for fear they may be used for war crimes.
Ministers insist that this means F-35 fighter jets used by Israel no longer receive replacement parts from the UK, and no British-made bombs or ammunition are used in Gaza. Lord David Cameron has previously said he considered sanctioning both Israeli ministers in his final days as foreign secretary in Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government.
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