The decision by Western governments friendly to Israel was a sharp rebuke of Israel’s settlement policies in the West Bank and of settler violence.

In a coordinated move, Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway sanctioned Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for inciting violence and human rights abuses in the West Bank.

The decision by Western governments friendly to Israel was a sharp rebuke of Israel’s settlement policies in the West Bank and of settler violence, which has spiked since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited the war in the Gaza Strip.