Israel’s right-wing finance minister Bezalel Smotrich.Image: keystone
June 9, 2026, 4:32 p.mJune 9, 2026, 4:32 p.m
France has issued an entry ban against Israel’s right-wing extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich because of his settlement policy in the West Bank.
As French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced, the entry ban was issued in connection with new sanctions that France had imposed together with Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway because of the settlement policy. It is about holding extremist settlers accountable for violence against Palestinian civilians, said a joint statement from the foreign ministries of the countries involved.
Violent extremist settlers, with the support of their supporters, continued to carry out attacks against Palestinians and violate their human rights. They resorted to violence to evict Palestinians, destroy their property and continue illegal settlement, endangering the viability of the State of Palestine and the prospects for peaceful coexistence, the statement said.
Paris issues entry ban against Smotrich
Barrot justified the entry ban against the Israeli finance minister by saying that Smotrich was committed to the annexation of the West Bank and the establishment of new settlements there. Smotrich also aims to repopulate the Gaza Strip, from which Israel withdrew more than 20 years ago.
“This is a policy that the vast majority of the international community, which firmly adheres to the two-state solution, cannot accept,” Barrot wrote on X. In addition to the minister, the entry ban also applies to four leaders of settler organizations and twenty-one violent settlers.
Israel firmly rejected the new sanctions and spoke of anti-Israel measures that would further fuel anti-Semitism in the countries concerned. The sanctions are an attempt to enforce a political stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and on the right of Jews to settle in the Land of Israel – disguised as measures against violence. (sda/dpa)