France imposes entry ban on Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich
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France has announced an entry ban and sanctions against Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, accusing him of actively promoting the annexation of the occupied West Bank.
The move is part of a coordinated action by France, Britain, Canada, and Norway, which have also imposed sanctions on several Israeli right-wing organisations and activists linked to the settlement movement.
According to a joint statement, those targeted by the measures will face travel restrictions and asset freezes. The four countries said the sanctions are intended to disrupt financial networks that have enabled individuals and groups to "act with impunity in the West Bank."
France's foreign ministry said Smotrich was being sanctioned because of his support for the annexation of the West Bank.
The latest measures also target six Israeli right-wing groups and one far-right activist. The sanctions follow earlier actions taken by Britain against several settler organisations and activists, including Amana, Nachala, Hashomer Yosh, Torat Lechima, Lehava, Elisha Yered, Noam Federman, Neriya Ben Pazi, and Eden Levy. The Od Yosef Chai yeshiva and several settlement outposts had also previously been sanctioned.
The Regavim settler group was not included in the latest round of sanctions. The group has close links to Smotrich through Yehuda Eliahu, one of its co-founders and a senior official in Israel's Defence Ministry Settlement Administration.
Israel strongly condemned the coordinated sanctions. In a statement, the Israeli Foreign Ministry rejected the measures against Israeli citizens, organisations, and a government minister.
The ministry said the sanctions were politically motivated and described them as an attempt to impose a political position regarding Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It also rejected the allegation that the measures were aimed solely at addressing violence in the West Bank.
The sanctions come as international concern grows over settlement expansion and settler violence in the occupied West Bank.