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<\/a><\/p>\nIsrael’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich takes part in the Jerusalem Day parade at the Damascus Gate in the old city of Jerusalem, May 14, 2026. (Erik Marmor\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway and Australia on Tuesday released sweeping sanctions on Israeli networks and leaders to \u201chold extremist settlers accountable for the horrific levels of settler violence against Palestinian civilians,\u201d their foreign ministers said in a joint statement.<\/p>\n
The measures include a range of travel bans and asset freezes aimed at disrupting flows of finance to extremist settler groups as violence escalates in the West Bank. The United Nations reported over 1,800 settler attacks against Palestinians in 2025, the highest number since it began documenting incidents in 2006, and violence has remained intense this year. The Israeli military also recorded a sharp increase in nationalist and settler violence in 2025.<\/p>\n
Israel said it rejected \u201cthe disgraceful measures adopted by foreign governments against Israeli citizens, entities, and a government minister,\u201d accusing the other countries of imposing a political stance that was \u201ccamouflaged as measures against violence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat these governments have in common is their resounding failure to combat the antisemitism that is rampant in their own countries,\u201d said Israel\u2019s Foreign Ministry. \u201cAnti-Israeli policies of the kind adopted today only serve to fuel that antisemitism.\u201d<\/p>\n
New Zealand imposed travel bans last week on three Israelis: Itamar Yehuda Levi, Harel David Libi and Eliav Libi. Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the bans were not aimed at the Israeli government or people, but targeted \u201cthree individuals who have actively worked to expand illegal settlements in the West Bank, including through violence.\u201d Levi and his construction company, Eyal Hari Yehuda, were also listed as targets of new sanctions from the United Kingdom. Levi, Harel David Libi and Eliav Libi could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n
France on Tuesday joined a growing list of countries to ban Smotrich, Israel\u2019s far-right finance minister who oversees demolition and construction in a portion of the West Bank. The ban comes days after Smotrich visited the United States to march in a pro-Israel parade in New York City, surprising many local Jewish leaders who said they do not support him.<\/p>\n
Smotrich has already been barred from entering Ireland, Spain, the United Kingdom, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Slovenia. Smotrich did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
Those countries have also previously banned Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel\u2019s far-right national security minister. France banned Ben-Gvir last month after he posted a video of himself taunting detained activists who attempted to carry aid to Gaza on a flotilla. <\/p>\n
France added four leaders of settler organizations and 21 settlers accused of violence to its travel ban list on Tuesday, according to foreign affairs minister Jean-No\u00ebl Barrot.<\/p>\n
The United Kingdom, for the first time, has explicitly advised businesses against economic and financial activity in the West Bank. The country released a list of seven sanctioned people and entities that financially support Israeli settler farms and outposts in the West Bank or are associated with physical attacks on Palestinians. <\/p>\n
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper also announced at least \u00a310 million for the Palestinian Authority, which runs Palestinian areas of the West Bank, and \u00a31 million for humanitarian assistance with clearing mines in Gaza. <\/p>\n
Canada announced that its measures on Tuesday brought the country to a total of 19 individuals and 12 entities sanctioned for \u201ctheir role in extremist settler violence.\u201d<\/p>\n
The joint statement issued by five foreign ministers said that illegal settlements, which shrink the territory inhabited by Palestinians, undermine \u201cviability of the State of Palestine and the prospects for peaceful coexistence.\u201d Norway officially recognized a Palestinian state in May 2024, with France, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia following suit in September 2025. New Zealand has not recognized a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n