“Today, the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom have announced sanctions and other measures targeting Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank,” according to a joint statement they issued.
The five nations denounce the Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, of which there have been nearly 2,000 confirmed cases since the beginning of last year, the UN reports.
“We are steadfastly committed to the two-state solution and will continue to work with our partners towards its implementation,” says the statement. “It is the only way to guarantee security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians and ensure long term stability in the region, but it is imperilled by extremist settler violence and settlement expansion.”
