The US condemns sanctions imposed by five Western countries on Smotrich and Ben-Gvir.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday criticized five countries that imposed sanctions on two settler leaders who are also ministers in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government.

Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom announced they would impose sanctions on Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's finance minister, and Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's national security minister, for allegedly "inciting violence" against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

"The United States condemns the sanctions imposed by the governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, New Zealand, and Australia on two members of the Israeli government," Rubio said in a statement. "These sanctions do nothing to advance U.S.-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, return all hostages to their homes, and end the war."

Rubio added, "We reject any notion of equivalence: Hamas is a terrorist organization that has committed unspeakable atrocities, continues to hold innocent civilians hostage, and prevents the people of Gaza from living in peace. We remind our partners not to forget who the real enemy is. The United States urges the removal of sanctions and stands united with Israel."

US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce, responding to reporters' questions (during her press conference at the department) on the same subject on Thursday, said: "First, we find this completely unhelpful. It will not bring us closer to a ceasefire in Gaza. This, again, is about allies' sanctions on Israeli ministers. They should focus - the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, and New Zealand - on the real culprit, which is Hamas."

Knowing that the five countries' decision to impose sanctions on Ben-Gvir and Smotrich was due to settler violence in the occupied West Bank, the spokeswoman insisted on implicating Hamas, saying: "Hamas put the people of Gaza in this situation by launching its horrific attacks on October 7, which killed six Britons and 46 Americans, and it continues to hold hostages, including the bodies of four Americans."

Bruce added, "We remain concerned about any move that would further isolate Israel from the international community. If our allies want to help, they should focus on supporting Special Envoy Witkoff's negotiations and supporting the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation with food and aid."

The five Western countries announced on Tuesday that they would impose sanctions on the two far-right Israeli ministers, in a stinging rebuke of the Israeli leadership and a significant escalation of Western pressure on Israel over settler violence in the West Bank and its conduct of the war in Gaza.

Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway have imposed joint sanctions, restricting travel and freezing the financial assets of Israeli Defense Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, who is 18, are among the most hardline members of Netanyahu's government. Both have called for the mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, in statements previously condemned by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy as "cruel."

"Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have incited extremist violence and gross violations of Palestinian human rights. That is why we are taking action now - to hold those responsible accountable," Lamy and the foreign ministers of the four other countries said in a joint statement on Tuesday.