EU foreign ministers to discuss sanctioning Smotrich, Ben-Gvir

European Union foreign ministers are expected on Thursday to discuss imposing sanctions on Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party) and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit).

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had warned that he would take such a step earlier this month in a post on X.“While the World pushes for a ceasefire in #Gaza, Min. Ben Gvir calls for cutting fuel & aid to civilians,” Borrell wrote. “Like Min. Smotrich sinister statements, this is an incitement to war crimes. Sanctions must be on our EU agenda,” he stressed.

That was followed on Aug. 16 by a Borrell statement on X, in the aftermath of a serious attack against the West Bank Palestinian village of Jit by Jewish extremists, in which a Palestinian was killed.

“I confirm my intention to table a proposal for EU sanctions against violent settlers’ enablers, including some Israeli government’s members,” Burrell wrote.

In the last days he sent a proposal for sanctions to the EU foreign ministers ahead of their informal meeting on Thursday, a source told The Jerusalem Post on Monday confirming a report in the Guardian published Sunday.No action can be taken on this issue at an informal meeting, but Borrell can assess how much consensus there is for such a step, the source explained.

Temple Mount controversy

Action can only be taken with the agreement of all 27 member states.

Borrell’s push to advance the idea of sanctions comes as Ben-Gvir had pushed the issue of Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif.

Such a move disrupts the status quo at the site, where only Muslim prayers are allowed but members of all faiths can visit.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly disavowed Ben-Gvir’s actions and has insisted that the status quo will remain. But the issue has helped inflame already high anti-Israel tensions among Muslims.