London: Britain and four allies joined forces on Tuesday to sanction two Israeli ministers for "repeated incitements of violence" against Palestinians, upping their condemnation of Israel's actions around the war in Gaza.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir will be banned from entering the UK and will have any assets in the country frozen, Britain's foreign ministry said in a statement.
The announcement was a rare joint action alongside Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway and comes as the Israeli government faces growing international criticism over its conduct of the conflict with Hamas.
The sanction sees the five countries break from Israel's closest ally, the United States.
Ben Gvir and Smotrich "have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights", the foreign ministers of the five countries said in a joint statement.
"These actions are not acceptable. This is why we have taken action now -- to hold those responsible to account," they added.
Smotrich and Ben Gvir are part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's fragile ruling coalition.
Both have drawn criticism for their hard-line stance on the war in Gaza and comments about settlements in the occupied West Bank, the other Palestinian territory.
Smotrich, who lives in a West Bank settlement, has supported the expansion of settlements and has increasingly called for the territory's annexation.
Last month, he said Gaza would be "entirely destroyed" and that civilians would "start to leave in great numbers to third countries".
Ben Gvir has also called for Gazans to be resettled from the besieged territory.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the pair have used "horrendous extremist language" and that he would "encourage the Israeli government to disavow and condemn that language".
Earlier, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel had been informed by Britain of its sanctions decision, describing the move as "outrageous".
Meanwhile, Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg was deported from Israel on Tuesday, the day after the Israeli navy prevented her and a group of fellow pro-Palestinian activists from sailing to Gaza.
Israeli forces seized their small aid ship, which was seeking to break a longstanding naval blockade of Gaza, and the 12-strong crew were brought to Israel.
Four of the group, including Thunberg, agreed to immediate deportation, while the eight others contested the repatriation order. They have been detained near Tel Aviv airport awaiting a court hearing on their legal status.
Amongst those who have refused to leave are Rima Hassan, a French member of the European parliament. — SEE ALSO P6
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