France Bans Israeli Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir Over West Bank Settlement Policies

France banned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering its territory on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced the decision and said Smotrich actively promotes the annexation of the West Bank, the creation of new settlements there, the re-colonization of Gaza, and the economic collapse of the Palestinian Authority.

Barrot wrote that the policy cannot be accepted by the overwhelming majority of the international community committed to the two-state solution.

He also announced bans on four leaders of settler organizations and 21 violent settlers. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was barred on May 23.

The French measures form part of coordinated sanctions with Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway over settler violence against Palestinians. Those five countries announced in June 2025 that they were banning both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich from their territories. Spain, Slovenia and Ireland have also banned the ministers.

Ben-Gvir and Smotrich belong to the far-right Religious Zionist party and serve as cornerstones of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition government. Ben-Gvir became a minister in 2022. Britain separately urged its businesses and citizens on Tuesday to refrain from financial activities in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank deemed illegal under international law.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told parliament that violent settler groups should not profit from land seized from Palestinians and that Israeli government condemnations of settler violence ring hollow given scant accountability. Since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, near-daily violence has also occurred in the West Bank.

Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,080 Palestinians there, according to an Agence France-Presse tally based on Palestinian health ministry data.