The Media Line: France Bans Smotrich Entry as 6 Countries Target Settler Leaders and Communities  

France Bans Smotrich Entry as 6 Countries Target Settler Leaders and Communities  

By The Media Line Staff  

A group of six Western countries announced new measures Tuesday targeting Israelis connected to settlement activity in the West Bank, while France separately confirmed that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich would be prohibited from entering the country.  

The coordinated action was announced by the foreign ministers of Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Norway and New Zealand, who issued a joint statement criticizing what they described as ongoing settler violence and continued expansion of communities and outposts.  

“Extremist violent settlers, with the backing of their supporters, continue to attack Palestinians and abuse their human rights,” the ministers said. “For too long, violent settlers have been able to act with near impunity, and settlement expansion and creation of outposts continue with the support and facilitation of the government of Israel.”  

Separately, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot revealed that Smotrich was among a number of Israelis facing restrictions imposed by France. The measure also applies to four leaders of settler organizations and 21 individual settlers.  

Barrot outlined the rationale for the decision in a post on X, where he accused Smotrich of supporting policies that France opposes.  

Among the allegations cited by the French minister were Smotrich’s support for the annexation of the West Bank and what Barrot characterized as the “recolonization” of Gaza.  

Barrot also criticized the Israeli minister’s approach toward the Palestinian Authority. He alleged that Smotrich was advocating “the economic collapse of the Palestinian Authority and its deleterious consequences on the Palestinian population.”  

According to Barrot, such positions conflict with the approach favored by governments that support a negotiated two-state framework.  

He wrote that these policies are something “the overwhelming majority of the international community, firmly committed to the two-state solution, cannot accept.”  

Smotrich is now among a group of Israelis facing restrictions announced by European governments as part of broader actions connected to developments in the West Bank.  

The announcements were made Tuesday as several Western governments coordinated measures directed at Israeli individuals and organizations.