Britain imposes sanctions on senior Israeli officials
LONDON, June 10 (YPA) – The British government announced on Tuesday that it had imposed sanctions on the extremist Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, including an asset freeze and a travel ban.
The government said the sanctions came due to their “brutal” statements regarding the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian people.
With this announcement, Britain joins Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in imposing punitive measures, according to the British newspaper The Times.
The Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar commented on the British decision, calling it “outrageous.”
“I have just heard that Britain has imposed sanctions on me because I am obstructing the establishment of a Palestinian state,” considering that the appropriate response is to “continue construction and settlement activity,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said during the inauguration of the Mitzpe Ziv settlement in the Hebron Hills.
He added: “My verbal response will be to despise the White Paper,” referring to the British documents related to the Palestinian issue.
Ben-Gvir, for his part, said, “I despise the White Paper. We have bypassed Pharaoh and we will bypass Starmer’s wall. I will continue to work for Israel and its people without fear or intimidation.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu relied on the support of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir to ensure the stability of his fragile government coalition.
Last month, Smotrich declared that “Gaza will be completely destroyed” and that Palestinians “will leave in droves to third countries.”
Ben-Gvir, on more than one occasion, has called for the removal of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the construction of a synagogue in its place, in addition to the expulsion of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
These sanctions came amid a recent UN report confirming that 2.1 million Palestinians are on the brink of starvation in Gaza following an 80-day Israeli blockade of food, fuel, and medicine.
AA