Slovenia imposes sanctions on Israel, declares two ministers undesirable

(Patria) - After EU foreign ministers failed to reach an agreement on joint measures against Israel, Slovenia became the first EU member to independently decide to impose sanctions.

Namely, two Israeli ministers have been declared undesirable in Slovenia. These are Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and Minister of Finance and Defense Bezalel Smotrich.

The Slovenian government has designated them as individuals who "incite extreme violence and serious human rights violations against Palestinians with their genocidal statements".

In a statement, the government stated that these ministers publicly advocate for the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the forced deportation of Palestinians, and call for violence against the Palestinian civilian population.

"Their actions and positions incite the ethnic cleansing of the West Bank and Gaza," the Slovenian government's explanation reads.

This Slovenian move comes after a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Tuesday, where no consensus was reached on sanctions against Israel for human rights violations.

Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob previously announced that Slovenia would act independently or in cooperation with like-minded member states if the EU did not take action.

In mid-June, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Norway imposed sanctions on Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.

The foreign ministers of these five countries accused the Israeli ministers of inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, although the Gaza Strip was not specifically mentioned in their statement.

The policies of the current Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu include attacks on Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran, as well as illegal settlement of occupied territories and restricting the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

However, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich go even more radically with their views and proposals - Smotrich, for example, lives in one of the illegal settlements in the West Bank himself.