Israeli Foreign Minister Refuses to Receive Call from British Counterpart

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar refused a phone call on Wednesday from his British counterpart, David Lammy, following London's decision to impose sanctions on Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for inciting the genocide of Palestinians.

The Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported: "Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar refused to receive a call from British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who wanted to inform him of the decision to impose sanctions on Smotrich and Ben-Gvir," without providing further details.

On Tuesday, Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway decided to impose sanctions on National Security Minister Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Smotrich in response to their repeated incitement to violence against Palestinians.

The sanctions include freezing the two ministers' assets in those countries and banning them from entering their territories.

Sa'ar said in a press conference on Tuesday: "We were informed of the United Kingdom's decision to place two of our ministers on the British sanctions list."

"It is shameful that elected representatives and members of the government are subjected to such measures," he added.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with American support, has been committing genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and displacement, ignoring international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.

The genocide left approximately 182,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing. Hundreds of thousands were displaced, and famine claimed the lives of many, including children.

Since the start of the genocide, the two ministers have repeatedly called for the reoccupation of the Gaza Strip, the expulsion of Palestinians from it, the establishment of settlements on their lands and in the West Bank, and the prevention of humanitarian aid from entering the Strip.

The United Nations considers settlements in the occupied territories "illegal," asserting that they undermine the possibility of resolving the conflict according to the principle of a two-state solution (Palestinian and Israeli). For decades, it has called on Israel to halt them, to no avail.