France bans Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich over West Bank annexation calls

France has imposed an entry ban on Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, citing his active promotion of the annexation of the occupied West Bank and the “recolonisation” of Gaza. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced the decision on Tuesday, stating that the move targets those responsible for intensifying settlement-building and violence in the region.

In addition to Smotrich, the French government barred four leaders of settler organisations and twenty-one individuals classified as violent settlers from entering the country. Barrot described the policy as one that the “overwhelming majority of the international community, firmly committed to the two-state solution, cannot accept.”

The sanctions were implemented in tandem with similar measures imposed by Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Norway. This coordinated action underscores a growing diplomatic consensus among Western nations regarding the impact of Israeli settlement expansion and associated violence in the occupied territories.

Smotrich, a member of the far-right Religious Zionist party, becomes the second Israeli minister to face a French entry ban in recent months. Last month, France barred National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir following remarks he made mocking activists bound by Israeli soldiers on a Gaza-bound flotilla. Together, Smotrich and Ben Gvir form a cornerstone of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition government.

The decision follows similar actions by other European nations. Ireland barred both ministers in recent days, while Britain banned the pair in June of the previous year. Spain and Slovenia have also followed suit with comparable restrictions. The specific legal mechanisms and duration of these entry bans were not detailed in the announcement.