France says West Bank violence justifies its sanctions against Israeli minister Ben-Gvir

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Wednesday condemned violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, saying it justified France’s recent sanctions against Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

“What is happening today in the West Bank is utterly disgraceful and should fill us all with revulsion,” Barrot wrote on X.

“This is why we have sanctioned Israeli minister Ben-Gvir, whose recent comments are unacceptable and inhuman,” he added.

France announced in May that it was banning Ben-Gvir from entering French territory.

Barrot reiterated that further sanctions could be imposed on Israeli settlers deemed to be involved in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

In June, Britain, Canada, France and Norway announced coordinated sanctions against Israeli networks involved in financing, enabling and carrying out violence in the West Bank.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry rejected the measures, saying the governments imposing them had failed to control antisemitism and were fuelling it through such sanctions.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have settled among millions of Palestinians in territory captured by Israel in the 1967 war.

Nearly all countries and a range of UN bodies consider the settlements to violate international law, while Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the land.