World
Smotrich banned from France as 4 countries introduce new sanctions against settler violence
France has barred Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, four leaders of settler organizations and 21 violent settlers from entering the country, French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot announced on Tuesday, as several countries introduced fresh sanctions against settlers and organizations deemed to be responsible for violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Israel reacted with anger to the move, accusing the countries involved in the new measures of furthering antisemitism through anti-Israel policies.
Barrot, in a statement on X, slammed Smotrich for actively promoting the annexation of the West Bank and the “recolonization” of Gaza. He moreover accused the far-right minister, who also serves as a minister within the Defense Ministry, of pushing for “the economic collapse of the Palestinian Authority, and its deleterious consequences on the Palestinian population.”
“Four leaders of settler organizations, and twenty-one violent settlers” are also banned from French territory, the French diplomat said, warning that Israel’s policies in the West Bank are ones “that the overwhelming majority of the international community, firmly committed to the two-state solution, cannot accept.”
Separately on Tuesday, France, along with Britain, Canada, and Norway, announced coordinated action with sanctions against several settler individuals and entities in response to “record settlement expansion and rising settler violence in the West Bank.”
The sanctions are aimed at disrupting the flows of finance that have “allowed extremist settler groups to act with impunity” in the West Bank, a British government statement said, with coordinated sanctions “against networks financing and enabling settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank.”
The move was also coordinated with New Zealand and Australia, which announced new sanctions last week, the UK said.
The statement identified the targeted entities and individuals as The Farms Association, Ahavat Gilad, Ari Yshag, Artzenu, Shivat Zion Lerigvey Admata, Eyal Hari Yehuda and Itamar Yehuda Levi.
The UK government in its announcement reiterated in a statement that continued settlement expansion undermines the viability of a two-state solution, with record levels of settler violence “designed deliberately to destroy Palestinian homes and livelihoods in the West Bank.”
It also repeated its call on the Israeli government to end settlement expansion, clamp down on settler violence, prosecute those responsible, and lift ongoing restrictions on the functioning of the Palestinian economy.
“The UK will not hesitate to take further action if the situation does not improve,” it warned.
British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper formally announced the measures in parliament on Tuesday, stressing that “settler expansion and violence is illegal and a fundamental threat to the viability of a two-state solution, and to long-term peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis.”
She also urged British businesses and citizens to refrain from conducting financial activities in West Bank Israeli settlements, which most of the international community considers illegal.
“I have strengthened our business risk guidance to make it clear and unambiguous: if you are a British citizen or business, you should not conduct any economic and financial activities in illegal Israeli settlements,” Cooper told parliament.
“We believe that violent settler groups should not be profiting from the land that they have seized from Palestinians,” Cooper added, saying that although the Israeli government had condemned some settler violence, “that rings hollow when there is scant accountability.”
Critics have accused the Israeli government and law enforcement of turning a blind eye to violent attacks by settler extremists, which have become increasingly deadly in recent years and occur on a near-daily basis. Arrests are rare and prosecutions are even less common.
The military recorded 867 incidents of nationalistic crime and settler violence in 2025, up from 682 incidents in 2024.
In Israel, the Foreign Ministry hit back against the new sanctions, saying it “firmly rejects” punitive measures taken by foreign governments, and claiming that the steps fueled antisemitism.
“Israel firmly rejects the disgraceful measures adopted by foreign governments against Israeli citizens, entities, and a government minister,” the Foreign Ministry said, accusing the relevant countries of attempting to “impose a political stance regarding the right of Jews to settle in the Land of Israel and concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – camouflaged as measures against violence.”
It further condemned what it called the “resounding failure” of these governments “to combat the antisemitism that is rampant in their own countries,” saying “anti-Israeli policies of the kind adopted today only serve to fuel that antisemitism.”
“Astonishingly, these governments have also failed to impose sanctions or take action against the phenomena that truly drive violence – the Palestinian Authority’s salaries for terrorists,” the ministry added, referring to a controversial PA policy dubbed “pay-for-slay” by critics, which Ramallah has claimed to reverse, though Israel says it has continued.
