[Salon] UK preparing sanctions against top Israeli ministers over 'monstrous' Gaza comments

https://thecradle.co/articles/uk-preparing-sanctions-against-top-israeli-ministers-over-monstrous-gaza-comments

UK preparing sanctions against top Israeli ministers over 'monstrous' Gaza comments

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded to the UK move by vowing to further expand illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank

News Desk 6/10/25

The UK has decided to impose sanctions on Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, in response to “monstrous” comments they made about Gaza recently.

The Times reported on 10 June that “the UK will join Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries on Tuesday in freezing the assets of and imposing travel bans on Itamar Ben-Gvir … and Bezalel Smotrich.”

The Israeli government said it was informed of the decision on 10 June.

The UK has “had the option of imposing sanctions on the two ministers on their desks for more than a year, and only a fortnight ago decided to hold back after needing more work to secure international support for the move,” according to The Guardian.

The two ministers, who have been at the head of an aggressive Israeli government push to expand illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and have called for preventing humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza, have fired back at the decision.

“We survived Pharaoh, we will also survive Keir Starmer. I will continue to work for Israel and the people of Israel without fear or intimidation!” Ben Gvir said on 10 June, expressing “contempt for the White Paper,” referring to the UK policy paper limiting Jewish immigration to Palestine during the period of the British Mandate.

Smotrich also called the UK move a “White Paper” at a ceremony for a new illegal settlement in the city of Hebron, adding that the “timing couldn’t be better.”

“Britain has already tried once to prevent us from settling the cradle of our homeland and we will not allow it to do so again. We are determined to continue building,” Smotrich added, vowing the continued expansion of illegal settlements on the occupied territory.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also called the UK decision “outrageous.”

Smotrich called for “not even a grain of wheat” to be allowed into the besieged Gaza Strip earlier this month, coinciding with a brutal blockade, which has caused famine to spread across the enclave. Last month, he said “Gaza will be entirely destroyed” and that Palestinians will “leave in great numbers to third countries.”

He has also recently called for the flattening of Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank.

Last month, Ben Gvir said an Israeli decision to resume limited aid deliveries to Gaza was a “grave mistake.” He also calls for the destruction of Al-Aqsa Mosque and its replacement with a Jewish synagogue.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy referred to their comments as “monstrous” in the House of Commons two weeks ago, signaling that London could potentially respond with sanctions.

Last month, the UK slapped sanctions on prominent individuals involved in Israel's illegal settler movement in the occupied West Bank, as well as on construction companies active in the territory.

The UK had previously joined France and Canada in threatening “concrete actions” if Israel does not halt the military invasion of Gaza and lift its blockade on humanitarian aid shipments.

Israel has maintained a tight siege on Gaza while carrying out a brutal and deadly new operation aimed at displacing the entire population southward and seizing control over the strip.

Israel's government has also approved scores of new illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Smotrich warned on 6 June that Tel Aviv has prepared an “escalation plan” in the occupied West Bank if European countries move forward with a push to recognize a Palestinian state, including land annexation and further forced displacement.