The UK government has sanctioned two Israeli government ministers due to their “repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian civilians”, the Foreign Office has said.
The two ministers are Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, and the UK is imposing sanctions alongside Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway.
The ministers are being sanctioned in their personal capacities, and are now subject to an asset freeze, travel ban, and director disqualification.
The Foreign Office says they are “responsible for, engaging in, inciting, promoting and/or supporting activity which amounts to a serious abuse of the right of individuals not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in particular acts of aggression and violence against Palestinian individuals in the West Bank”.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy told broadcasters the two ministers have been “inciting violence” and “encouraging egregious abuses of human rights” for “months”, which he has raised repeatedly with the Israeli government.
He added: “We stand for a two-state solution, and the settler violence that we’ve seen in the West Bank particularly is entirely unacceptable and must stop.”
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Image: Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. Pic: AP
Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, condemned the decision as “outrageous”, and said he had discussed the move with Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, earlier on Tuesday.
“We will hold a special government meeting early next week to decide on our response to this unacceptable decision,” he added.
Who are the sanctioned Israeli ministers?
Mr Ben-Gvir is the far-right national security minister in the Netanyahu government, and is the leader of the Jewish Power party in the Knesset (parliament).
Our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn explains that he was “once convicted of being a member of a Jewish terrorist organisation and advocated the expulsion of Palestinians from their lands”.
Image: A file picture of Itamar Ben Gvir, center. Pic: AP
Mr Smotrich is the finance minister and a Jewish settler who has denied the existence of Palestinians as a people. He leads the National Religious Party – Religious Zionism party in the Knesset.
Dominic Waghorn reports that he has most recently said “not a grain of wheat” should be allowed to enter Gaza, saying it will be “entirely destroyed” and its people should be encouraged to leave in great numbers to go to other countries.
Image: A file photo of Bezalel Smotrich
Allies call for ‘meaningful action’ to stop settler violence
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway said the pair “have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights”, adding: “Extremist rhetoric advocating the forced displacement of Palestinians and the creation of new Israeli settlements is appalling and dangerous.”
“The Israeli government must uphold its obligations under international law, and we call on it to take meaningful action to end extremist, violent and expansionist rhetoric,” they added.
The foreign ministers emphasised that today’s measures “do not deviate from our unwavering support for Israel’s security, and we continue to condemn the horrific terror attacks of 7 October by Hamas”, but rather are “targeted towards individuals who in our view undermine Israel’s own security and its standing in the world”.
“We continue to want a strong friendship with the people of Israel based on our shared ties, values and commitment to their security and future,” they said.
The UK shadow foreign secretary, Dame Priti Patel, said the government must “leverage its influence at every opportunity to ensure the remaining hostages are released, that aid continues to reach those who need it, and a sustainable end to the conflict is achieved”.
She added that the party has “always been committed to supporting a two-state solution – delivered in the right way, and at the right time – and will work with the government to support efforts to achieve this, where those efforts are effective”.
Last October, former foreign secretary Lord David Cameron told Sky News he’d planned to sanction them while in government, but “ran out of time” when the surprise election was called for July.
Cameron, who returned to frontline politics under Rishi Sunak, said Mr Smotrich and Mr Ben-Gvir had made “abhorrent” comments.
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Lord Cameron speaking about sanctions on Israeli ministers
He said: “I was looking at the things we could do to say to the Israelis we back your right to self-defence… but at the same time, we do want you to try and obey… humanitarian law.
“And these two ministers are people who have tried, they’ve encouraged you, to stop aid getting into Gaza and encouraged the extreme settlers in the West Bank to carry out illegal acts.
“So it seemed to me it was worth looking at whether we could sanction these two individual ministers.”
Rachel Reeves has not offered her resignation and is “going nowhere”, Downing Street has said, following her tearful appearance in the House of Commons.
A Number 10 spokesperson said the chancellor had the “full backing” of Sir Keir Starmer, despite Ms Reeves looking visibly upset during Prime Minister’s Questions.
A spokesperson for the chancellor later clarified that Ms Reeves had been affected by a “personal matter” and would be working out of Downing Street this afternoon.
UK government bond prices fell by the most since October 2022, and the pound tumbled after Ms Reeves’s Commons appearance, while the yield on the 10-year government bond, or gilt, rose as much as 22 basis points at one point to around 4.68%.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch branded the chancellor the “human shield” for the prime minister’s “incompetence” just hours after he was forced to perform a humiliating U-turn over his controversial welfare bill.
Emotional Reeves a painful watch – and reminder of tough decisions ahead
It is hard to think of a PMQs like it – it was a painful watch.
The prime minister battled on, his tone assured, even if his actual words were not always convincing.
But it was the chancellor next to him that attracted the most attention.
Rachel Reeves looked visibly upset.
It is hard to know for sure right now what was going on behind the scenes, the reasons – predictable or otherwise – why she appeared to be emotional, but it was noticeable and it was difficult to watch.
Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Ms Badenoch said: “This man has forgotten that his welfare bill was there to plug a black hole created by the chancellor. Instead they’re creating new ones.”
Turning to the chancellor, the Tory leader added: “[She] is pointing at me – she looks absolutely miserable.
“Labour MPs are going on the record saying that the chancellor is toast, and the reality is that she is a human shield for his incompetence. In January, he said that she would be in post until the next election. Will she really?”
Not fully answering the question, the prime minister replied: “[Ms Badenoch] certainly won’t.
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Welfare vote ‘a blow to the prime minister’
“I have to say, I’m always cheered up when she asks me questions or responds to a statement because she always makes a complete mess of it and shows just how unserious and irrelevant they are.”
Mrs Badenoch interjected: “How awful for the chancellor that he couldn’t confirm that she would stay in place.”
A total of 49 Labour MPs voted against the bill – the largest rebellion in a prime minister’s first year in office since 47 MPs voted against Tony Blair’s Lone Parent benefit in 1997, according to Professor Phil Cowley from Queen Mary University.
After multiple concessions made due to threats of a Labour rebellion, many MPs questioned what they were voting for as the bill had been severely stripped down.
They ended up voting for only one part of the plan: a cut to Universal Credit (UC) sickness benefits for new claimants from £97 a week to £50 from 2026/7.
Ms Badenoch said the climbdown was proof that Sir Keir was “too weak to get anything done”.
Ms Reeves has also borne a lot of the criticism over the handling of the vote, with some MPs believing that her strict approach to fiscal rules has meant she has approached the ballooning welfare bill from the standpoint of trying to make savings, rather than getting people into work.
Experts have now warned that the welfare U-turn, on top of reversing the cut to winter fuel, means that tax rises in the autumn are more likely – with Ms Reeves now needing to find £5bn to make up for the policy U-turns.
Asked by Ms Badenoch whether he could rule out further tax rises – something Labour promised it would not do on working people in its manifesto – Sir Keir said: “She knows that no prime minister or chancellor ever stands at the despatch box and writes budgets in the future.
“But she talks about growth, for 14 years we had stagnation, and that is what caused the problem.”
Bybit and OKX have both launched MiCA-compliant crypto exchanges in the EU, marking a significant push into Europe’s newly unified regulatory landscape.