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In a dramatic rebuke of Israel’s leadership, five Western countries announced Tuesday that they are sanctioning two senior Israeli cabinet ministers, accusing them of inciting violence against Palestinians and obstructing peace efforts.

The move by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway targets Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, and Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, both of whom are among the most far-right figures in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition. The sanctions include travel and financial restrictions and mark an unprecedented escalation in pressure on Israel by its traditional allies.

Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have long drawn international criticism for inflammatory rhetoric and hardline policies toward Palestinians and both have advocated for the mass displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who has previously described the ministers’ calls to expel Palestinians as “monstrous,” accused Ben-Gvir and Smotrich of inciting violence and human rights abuses.

“These actions are not acceptable. This is why we have taken action now — to hold those responsible to account,” Lammy said in a joint statement with the foreign ministers of the other four countries.

In announcing the sanctions, the five governments said they are seeking to pressure the Israeli government to halt settlement expansion and curb settler violence in the West Bank and move toward a ceasefire in Gaza. The measures are also meant to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The news drew sharp reactions from Israeli officials, including Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who called the sanctions “scandalous and unacceptable.”

“The diplomatic pressure on Israel, which takes various forms, has one goal: causing a ceasefire without accomplishing the war’s objectives, while allowing Hamas to continue ruling in Gaza and threatening Israeli security,” Saar said in a post on X.

The reaction from Saar, as well as those from Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, invoked the era of Mandatory Palestine, when the Zionist movement fought against British rule to establish a Jewish state.

“Britain tried once before to prevent us from settling our ancestral land and we won’t let them do so again,” Smotrich wrote. “We are determined, with God’s help, to continue building.”

The announcement of the sanctions comes just weeks after the leaders of the United Kingdom, Canada and France issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s renewed military offensive in Gaza as “wholly disproportionate” and warned of further action if conditions did not improve.

France, notably, did not join the sanctions announced Tuesday, reflecting some divergence in approaches to Israel among Western governments. The United States, meanwhile, had been ratcheting up pressure on Israel with sanctions targeting Israeli extremists but President Donald Trump lifted those sanctions shortly after he took office earlier this year.

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JERUSALEM — Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway said Tuesday they have imposed sanctions on two far-right Israeli government ministers for allegedly “inciting extremist violence” against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The decision by Western governments friendly to Israel was a sharp rebuke of Israel’s settlement policies in the West Bank and of settler violence, which has spiked since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited the war in the Gaza Strip.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, key partners in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, are champions of Israeli settlement who support continuing the war in Gaza, facilitating what they call the voluntary emigration of its Palestinian population and the rebuilding of Jewish settlements there.

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They could now face asset freezes and travel bans.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the five countries said Ben-Gvir and Smotrich “have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights. Extremist rhetoric advocating the forced displacement of Palestinians and the creation of new Israeli settlements is appalling and dangerous.”

U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the two men “have been inciting violence against Palestinian people for months and months and months” and “encouraging egregious abuses of human rights.”

“These measures are directed at individuals who directly contribute to extremist settler violence,” said Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand. “The measures are not directed against the state of Israel itself.”

Smotrich wrote on social media that he learned of the sanctions while he was inaugurating a new West Bank settlement. “We are determined to continue building,” he said.

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Ben-Gvir, also writing on social media, said “we overcame Pharoah, we’ll overcome Starmer’s Wall,” referring to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer .

Israel’s government condemned the announcement, which came as traditional allies of Israel escalate denouncements of Israel’s actions in Gaza, from the high civilian death toll to a monthslong blockade that led to famine warnings.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the sanctions decision “outrageous.” He said he had discussed it with Netanyahu and they would meet next week to discuss Israel’s response.

He said that the move threatened to harden Hamas’ stance in ongoing negotiations to end the war in Gaza and to cut short Israel’s operation in Gaza before it achieves its goals.

Benny Gantz, an centrist Israeli lawmaker an political rival to Netanyahu, wrote he “vehemently” disagreed with Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, but said the move was “profound moral mistake and sends a dangerous message to terrorists around the world.”

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Netanyahu is the target of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court last year over alleged war crimes in Gaza, part of a global wave of outrage at Israel’s conduct during its 20-month war against Hamas. Netanyahu has denied the allegations and accused the court of being biased against Israel.

The Biden administration took the rare step of sanctioning radical Israeli settlers implicated in violence in the occupied West Bank — sanctions that were lifted by President Donald Trump .

Eitay Mack, an Israeli human rights lawyer who spent years campaigning for the sanctions on Smotrich and Ben-Gvir — along with violent West Bank settlers — described Tuesday’s move as “historic.”

“It means the wall of immunity that Israeli politicians had has been broken,” he said. “It’s unbelievable that it took so long for Western governments to sanction Israeli politicians, and the fact that it’s being done while Trump is president is quite amazing.”

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Mack added: “It is a message to Netanyahu himself that he could be next.”

Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for a future state.

Successive Israeli governments have promoted settlement growth and construction stretching back decades. It has exploded under Netanyahu’s far-right coalition, which has settlers in key Cabinet posts.

There are now well over 100 settlements across the West Bank that house more than 500,000 settlers. The settlers have Israeli citizenship, while the territory’s 3 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority administering population centers.

Most of the international community considers the settlements illegal, and Palestinians see them as the greatest obstacle to an eventual two-state solution, which is still seen internationally as the only way to resolve the conflict.

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Lawless reported from London. Associated Press writer Rob Gillies contributed from Toronto.

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London CNN —

The United Kingdom, Canada and other allies announced sanctions Tuesday on two hardline Israeli government ministers for repeatedly “inciting violence against Palestinians,” in a stark joint move that comes amid growing Western condemnation of Israel’s actions in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich will face a travel ban and an asset freeze, the UK government said.

Ben Gvir and Smotrich both lead far-right political parties that help keep Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fragile government coalition afloat. Both men have faced criticism for their inflammatory comments about the occupied West Bank as well as their positions on the war in Gaza.

The sanctions are being jointly implemented by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the UK, according to a joint statement by the five countries’ foreign ministers.

“We are steadfastly committed to the two-state solution which is the only way to guarantee security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians and ensure long term stability in the region, but it is imperilled by extremist settler violence and settlement expansion,” the joint statement said.

“Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights. Extremist rhetoric advocating the forced displacement of Palestinians and the creation of new Israeli settlements is appalling and dangerous,” the statement added. “We have engaged the Israeli Government on this issue extensively, yet violent perpetrators continue to act with encouragement and impunity.”

The sanctions imposed by the five Western nations represent a break in policy with the United States. While European and Commonwealth allies have increasingly put pressure on Netanyahu’s government, the Trump administration has repeatedly reaffirmed the US-Israel alliance. The US has also called for the conflict in Gaza to end, but last week, the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution demanding a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

While the sanctions are in relation to the West Bank, the Western allies’ joint statement added that “of course this cannot be seen in isolation from the catastrophe in Gaza. We continue to be appalled by the immense suffering of civilians, including the denial of essential aid.”

A Palestinian girl waits to receive food at a distribution point in Nuseirat, central Gaza, on June 2. Israel has faced growing condemnation over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Eyad Baba/AFP/Getty Images

Smotrich and Ben Gvir both live in settlements in the West Bank, which Palestinians and the vast majority of the international community hold as part of a future Palestinian state.

Both ministers responded defiantly to the travel bans and financial sanctions on Tuesday afternoon, vowing to continue their agenda and accusing Britain of echoing its colonial-era restrictions on Jewish migration to British-mandate Palestine.

Ben Gvir, the leader of the Jewish Power party, said that “the sanctions do not scare me,” adding, “I will continue to act for our country, for our people, I will continue to act and make sure that they do not let humanitarian aid into Hamas.”

Smotrich, speaking during the inauguration of the new Jewish settlement of Mitzpe Ziv in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, said that he “heard that Britain has decided to impose sanctions on me because I’m thwarting the establishment of a Palestinian state. There couldn’t be better timing than this.”

“Britain already tried once to prevent us from settling the cradle of our homeland, and we will not let it happen again. With God’s help, we are determined to continue building,” said Smotrich, who leads the National Religious Party–Religious Zionism.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the government will hold a “special meeting” early next week “to decide on our response to this unacceptable decision.”

“It is outrageous that elected representatives and members of the government are subjected to this kind of measure,” Saar said.

Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway said in their statement: “The measures announced today 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. Today’s measures are targeted towards individuals who in our view undermine Israel’s own security and its standing in the world.”

Ben Gvir quit Netanyahu’s government in January to protest the ceasefire in Gaza, only rejoining the government after Israel returned to war in March. He has repeatedly called for Palestinians to be driven out of Gaza and previously said Israel should “encourage voluntary migration of Gazans to countries around the world.”

Smotrich, who as finance minister has a seat on the Israeli security cabinet and holds significant sway over Netanyahu, has previously called for the formal annexation of settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. In May, he said his idea of victory in Gaza would be that the territory is “destroyed” and civilians are moved to a “humanitarian zone” in the south of the strip or leave for third countries.

Last month, UK Foreign Minister David Lammy slammed Smotrich’s comments on the possible destruction and cleansing of Gaza, telling British lawmakers: “It is extremism. It is dangerous. It is repellent. It is monstrous, and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”

At the time, the UK paused trade talks with Israel and imposed sanctions on West Bank settlers, but stopped short of sanctioning the far-right Israeli minister.

CNN’s Rob Picheta, Sharon Braithwaite and Abbas Al Lawati contributed to this report.

Five Western countries announced on Tuesday that they would impose sanctions on two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, a remarkable rebuke of Israel’s leadership and a striking escalation of Western pressure on Israel over settler violence in the West Bank and the conduct of the war in Gaza.

Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Norway jointly imposed the sanctions, which will restrict the right to travel and will freeze the financial assets of the Israeli security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir; and the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich.

Mr. Smotrich and Mr. Ben-Gvir are among the most hard-line members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet. Both have called for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza in statements that the British foreign secretary, David Lammy, has previously condemned as “monstrous.”

“Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights,” Mr. Lammy and the foreign ministers of the four other countries said in a joint statement on Tuesday. “That is why we have taken action now — to hold those responsible to account.”