UK sanctions Israeli ministers Ben Gvir and Smotrich

The UK has placed sanctions on two Israeli government ministers today, over their ‘monstrous’ comments about Gaza which included comments to do with plans to destroy the territory and use violence to attain control of new settlements in the West Bank.

Israel’s security minister Ben Gvir and Israel’s Finance minister Smotrich, both of whom are in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet will face travel bans and have their assets frozen. 

The Israeli government has been quick to give a strong rebuke of the actions with both the Israeli foreign office and Smotrich sending strong statements as a result. 

Israel’s foreign affairs minister, Gideon Sa’ar, said it is: “outrageous that elected representatives and members of the government are subjected to these kind of measures.

“I discussed it earlier today with PM Netanyahu and we will hold a special government meeting early next week to decide on our response to this unacceptable decision.”

Finance minister Smotrich took to X to voice his dismay.

תוך כדי שאני יושב בחנוכת היישוב החדש שאישרנו ״מצפה זיו״ בהר חברון, לזכרם של יואב דורון ויהודה בן יוסף הי״ד, שמעתי שבריטניה החליטה להטיל עלי סנקציות בשל העובדה שאני מסכל את הקמתה של המדינה הפלסטינית. לא יכול להיות תזמון טוב מזה.

התגובה הטבעית תהיה גם מעשית אבל התגובה המילולית… pic.twitter.com/GPYuYXGOWp

— בצלאל סמוטריץ’ (@bezalelsm) June 10, 2025

UK ministers have had the option of imposing sanctions on the two Israeli ministers on their desks for more than a year now, and only a fortnight ago had decided to hold back after needing more work to secure international support for the move.

Sanctioned minister Smotrich has been pivotal in approving the expansion of West Bank settlements while also a key figure in campaigning against humanitarian aid in Gaza, even after an 11-week total blockade.

Smotrich has also a long history of making outrageous statements that were deemed too extreme even for Benjamin Netanyahu’s far right government, including statements supporting the complete ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip.

In early May Smotrich said: “Gaza will be entirely destroyed, civilians will be sent to the south to a humanitarian zone without Hamas or terrorism, and from there they will start to leave in great numbers to third countries”.

Smotrich even gained a rebuke from Germany last year, one of Israel’s closest allies after saying that the potential deaths of 2 million Palestinians in the blockaded Gaza Strip from hunger might be justifiable.

The decision to sanction the two ministers also comes after more than 300 workers of the UK’s Foreign Office raised concerns about UK complicity in Gaza and were told to consider resigning if they disagree with government policy. 

The 300 workers had signed off a letter to David Lammy in which they criticised UK arms sales to Israel by saying that there was a “stark disregard for international law”.

The two most senior civil servants in the foreign office, Sir Oliver Robbins and Nick Dyer then responded and told signatories: “If your disagreement with any aspect of government policy or action is profound your ultimate recourse is to resign from the civil service. This is an honourable course.”

The response was met with outrage according to one of the signatories and had been quick to reach mainstream British media, leading to a humiliating outlook on the UK’s governments sentiments of its own workers.

It’s possible the recent move to sanction Ben Gvir and Smotrich came as a result of intense pressure from multiple fronts of the ruling British Labour Party, and this was the final nail in the coffin for the government to mitigate domestic dismay on the government’s stance on Israel.

READ: Over 300 UK Foreign Office staff told to consider resigning if they disagree with government’s Gaza policy