UK to sanction Israeli ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir

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The UK government is set to sanction Israeli ultranationalist finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Tuesday, according to people briefed on the matter.

The move would mark the first western sanctions against Israeli government ministers as frustration grows over the near cessation of aid to Gaza and Israel’s renewed offensive in the enclave.

Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Tuesday that his government had been “informed” of the UK’s decision.

“We were informed about the UK decision to include two of our ministers on the British Sanctions list,” Sa’ar said, describing it as “outrageous”.

He added that he would hold a “special government meeting” early next week, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “to decide on our response to this unacceptable decision”.

This is a developing story