France on Tuesday banned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country, the French foreign minister announced, condemning him for actively promoting the annexation of the West Bank and the 're-colonization' of Gaza.
Sanctions Extended to Settler Leaders and Violent Settlers
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot wrote on X that 'four leaders of settler organizations, and twenty-one violent settlers' were also banned from French territory. He denounced a 'policy that the overwhelming majority of the international community, firmly committed to the two-state solution, cannot accept.'
International Coordination
The minister stated that the announcement 'imposing new sanctions on those responsible for the intensification of settlement-building and violence in the West Bank' was made in coordination with Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Norway.
Smotrich, a member of the far-right Religious Zionist party, becomes the second Israeli minister France has banned in recent months. Last month, France banned National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for mocking bound activists seized by Israeli soldiers on a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying aid for the besieged Palestinian territory.
Role in Israeli Government
Together, Ben Gvir and Smotrich form a cornerstone of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition government. Ireland also barred the two ministers in recent days. Britain banned the pair in June last year, followed by other countries including Spain and Slovenia.
