Six Western nations unveiled coordinated sanctions Tuesday against Israeli officials and settlers linked to West Bank settlement activities, with France specifically barring Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering French territory.
Foreign ministers from Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Norway and New Zealand released a collective statement condemning what they termed persistent settler violence and the ongoing growth of settlements and outposts.
“Extremist violent settlers, with the backing of their supporters, continue to attack Palestinians and abuse their human rights,” the ministers said. “For too long, violent settlers have been able to act with near impunity, and settlement expansion and creation of outposts continue with the support and facilitation of the government of Israel.”
In a separate announcement, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot disclosed that Smotrich was included among multiple Israelis now subject to French entry restrictions. The ban encompasses four heads of settler organizations and 21 individual settlers as well.
Barrot explained the decision’s reasoning through a social media post on X, claiming Smotrich endorses policies that France rejects.
The French minister’s accusations against Smotrich included his backing of West Bank annexation and what Barrot described as the “recolonization” of Gaza.
Barrot additionally condemned the Israeli minister’s stance regarding the Palestinian Authority. He claimed that Smotrich was promoting “the economic collapse of the Palestinian Authority and its deleterious consequences on the Palestinian population.”
Such positions clash with the approach preferred by governments backing a negotiated two-state solution, according to Barrot.
He wrote that these policies are something “the overwhelming majority of the international community, firmly committed to the two-state solution, cannot accept.”
Smotrich now joins other Israelis facing limitations announced by European nations as part of wider actions related to West Bank developments.
The declarations came Tuesday as multiple Western governments synchronized measures aimed at Israeli individuals and organizations.
