Paris: France has imposed an entry ban on far-right Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, in response to Israel's settlement policy in the West Bank. French Foreign Minister Jean-No«l Barrot announced on Tuesday that the decision is part of new sanctions that France, alongside the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Norway, has implemented to address the ongoing settlement issues.
According to Ghana News Agency, the aim of these sanctions is to hold extremist settlers accountable for acts of violence against Palestinian civilians. A joint statement from the foreign ministries of the involved nations highlighted that these violent settlers, supported by their backers, continue to perpetrate attacks on Palestinians, infringing on their human rights. The settlers resort to violence to displace Palestinians, destroy their properties, and persist in illegal settlements, actions that threaten the feasibility of a Palestinian state and the prospects for peaceful coexistence.
Barrot justified the entry ban on Smotrich on the grounds that the minister advocates for the annexation of the West Bank and the establishment of new settlements. Additionally, Smotrich seeks to resettle the Gaza Strip, an area from which Israel withdrew over 20 years ago. Barrot emphasized that these policies are unacceptable to the majority of the international community, which supports a two-state solution. The entry ban also extends to four leaders of settler organizations and 21 violent settlers.
Israel has strongly condemned the new sanctions, labeling them as anti-Israeli measures that exacerbate anti-Semitism in the countries involved. Israel asserts that these sanctions are an attempt to impose a political stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the right of Jews to settle in the Land of Israel, under the guise of measures against violence.