UK and allies sanction Israeli ministers Ben Gvir and Smotrich over Gaza comments

The United Kingdom and several of its allies sanctioned two far-right Israeli ministers on Tuesday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, over "their repeated incitement of violence against Palestinian communities" in Gaza, and in the occupied West Bank.

UK Foreign Secretery David Lammy said in a joint statement along with the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway that the decision was the "only way to guarantee security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians and ensure long term stability in the region."

"Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights," he said.

"These actions are not acceptable. This is why we have taken action now - to hold those responsible to account.

"We will strive to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate release of the remaining hostages by Hamas which can have no future role in the governance of Gaza, a surge in aid and a path to a two-state solution," he added.

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The move came as 96 British MPs called on the government to immediately suspend the UK's trade agreement with Israel, not only the free trade agreement talks that were halted last month.

"The agreement explicitly includes respect for human rights as an "essential element" making it more than a political commitment. It is a binding legal condition," they wrote on Tuesday in an open letter. 

"When this essential element is breached, as is the case with the serious violations currently being committed, the agreement itself provides the UK with the legal right to suspend or terminate its provisions, in whole or in part."

They said failure to act now would not only undermine the integrity of the agreement but also signal "tolerance for grave breaches of international law".

The two Israeli ministers have fiercely opposed the entry of international aid into Gaza and repeatedly advocated for the forced expulsion of Palestinians from the territory, with Ben Gvir calling for Israel to "encourage the voluntary emigration of the residents of Gaza".

Meanwhile, Smotrich pledged just last month that "Gaza will be entirely destroyed" and that Palestinians will "leave in great numbers to third countries."

Speaking to the BBC, Lammy said the ministers, along with the Israeli government, had been repeatedly warned against "encouraging egregious abuses of human rights."

However, when asked whether he would pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sack the ministers, Lammy said it was for the Israeli government to "make their own determination."

"We have been clear, and I have called for them [the Israeli government] to condemn and disavow these statements and be very clear that they stand against the violence that we've seen in the West Bank, and those that would seek to thwart any possibility of a two state solution."

Smotrich: 'We are determined to continue building'

In a statement, the Foreign Office said the sanctions, effective immediately, were for the minsters' repeated incitement of violence against Palestinian civilians.

"The UK has made clear in public and private to the Netanyahu government that Israel must cease expansion of illegal settlements which undermine a future Palestinian state, clamp down on settler violence, and condemn inflammatory and extremist statements from both individuals," it said.

"The measures announced by international partners today demonstrate the commitment to ensure individuals are held accountable for encouraging and inciting human rights abuses," it added.

Responding to the announcement, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the move as "outrageous" and said a special government meeting would decide how to respond next week.

"We were informed about the UK decision to include two of our ministers on the British sanctions list," Saar said.

"It is outrageous that elected representatives and members of the government are subjected to these kinds of measures."

Smotrich, speaking at the inauguration of a new illegal Jewish settlement in Hebron, spoke of "contempt" for the UK's move.

"Britain has already tried once to prevent us from settling the cradle of our homeland, and we cannot do it again. We are determined, God willing, to continue building," he said in a thinly veiled reference to the era of Mandate Palestine before Israel’s creation in 1948.

Smotrich has long advocated for extending Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank and Gaza, and across the Middle East as part of his vision of a "Greater Israel."

He also declared that Israel would "apply sovereignty" in the occupied West Bank before the next Israeli general elections in October 2026.

"Within a few months, we will be able to declare that we have won. Gaza will be totally destroyed," Smotrich said last month.

"In another six months, Hamas won't exist as a functioning entity."

Since reneging on a ceasefire deal with Hamas in March, Israeli forces have killed at least 4,600 Palestinians in attacks targeting tents, hospitals and school-turned-shelters.

According to the Gaza health ministry, at least 54,981 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since October 2023, including more than 28,000 women and girls.

The figure also includes at least 1,400 health sector professionals, 280 UN aid workers - the highest staff death toll in UN history - and 227 journalists, the highest number of media workers killed in conflict since the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) began recording data in 1992. 

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