US rejects sanctions on Israeli ministers by five nations amid Gaza war

The Trump administration slammed the U.K., Norway, Canada, New Zealand and Australia after the five nations imposed sanctions and travel bans—along with other actions—against Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

“These sanctions do not advance U.S.-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, bring all hostages home, and end the war,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. “We reject any notion of equivalence: Hamas is a terrorist organization that committed unspeakable atrocities, continues to hold innocent civilians hostage, and prevents the people of Gaza from living in peace. We remind our partners not to forget who the real enemy is. The United States urges the reversal of the sanctions and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel.”

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar shakes hands with Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he arrives in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 15, 2025. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool)

ISRAEL OBJECTS TO FOREIGN NATIONS SANCTIONING ITS OFFICIALS

Ben-Gvir praised Rubio for his statement, saying that “the American administration is a moral compass in the face of the confusion of some Western countries that choose to appease terrorist organizations like Hamas.” He added that Israel would continue its fight against terrorism.

Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar also thanked Rubio for being “a clear moral voice” and said the U.S. official’s statement “should be a compass to the international community, to all those preaching [to] Israel, ignoring realities.”

Sa’ar condemned the U.K., Norway, Canada, New Zealand and Australia’s “outrageous” actions against Ben-Gvir and Smotrich on Tuesday. He said the “actions and decisions against Israel also contribute to hardening Hamas’ stance in the negotiations for the hostage deal—and distance it and the ceasefire.”

Israeli lawmakers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich attend the swearing-in ceremony for the new parliament in Jerusalem, Nov. 15, 2022.  (Maya Alleruzzo/Pool via Reuters)

NETANYAHU ACCUSES THE UK, FRANCE AND CANADA OF ‘ENABLING HAMAS’

In a joint statement issued by the foreign ministers of U.K., Norway, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich were accused of inciting “extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights.” 

All five nations whose foreign ministers issued the joint statement have been critical of Israel as it pursued its post-Oct. 7 war against Hamas.

In May, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the U.K., France and Canada of “enabling Hamas” after the countries demanded that Jerusalem halt its military campaign in Gaza. 

A view of a street in the Gaza Strip as it is seen from an Israeli military vehicle, June 8, 2025. (Reuters/Ronen Zvulun )

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“I say to President Macron, Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister Starmer: When mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers thank you, you’re on the wrong side of justice,” Netanyahu said in a video statement. “You’re on the wrong side of humanity and you’re on the wrong side of history.”

Australia and New Zealand also issued a joint statement on the Israel-Hamas war in December 2024 in which they called for a ceasefire in Gaza and scolded Israel over its treatment of U.N. agencies, such as the controversial United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

In his Tuesday statement, Sa’ar said Israel will convene a government meeting early next week to discuss its response to the actions taken against the ministers.