French foreign minister Barrot condemns West Bank settler violence, defends Ben-Gvir sanctions
This comes after France announced in May that it was banning Ben-Gvir from French territory.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has condemned the violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, justifying France's recent sanctions against National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Barrot's statement, made on X, emphasized the disgraceful nature of the incidents in the West Bank, particularly the prolonged encirclement of Palestinian homes in Kusra.
The French government has also imposed travel restrictions on Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, with France joining Britain, Canada, and Norway in imposing sanctions on Israeli networks involved in West Bank violence. The sanctions come amid renewed international scrutiny of the events in Kusra, where Israeli settlers had encircled Palestinian homes for over a week, drawing sharp condemnation from US Ambassador Mike Huckabee.
Israeli officials and settlement leaders have also criticized the violence, with Ben-Gvir and Yesha Council chairman Yisrael Gantz condemning the actions of some settlers. The issue of settlement expansion in the West Bank predates these recent incidents, with IDF figures showing a 27% increase in attacks by extremist Jewish settlers against Palestinians and Israeli security forces in 2025.
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