Surrounded by security guards, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, center, participates in march marking Jerusalem Day, an Israeli holiday celebrating the capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, in Damascus Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City, Monday, May 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The United States condemned Canada and four other countries on Tuesday for imposing sanctions on two Israeli cabinet ministers.
Canada joined the U.K., Norway, Australia and New Zealand on Tuesday in sanctioning Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, accusing them of pushing “extremist rhetoric” by calling for the displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank and the expansion of Israeli settlements in the territory.
“Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights,” reads a joint statement issued by the five countries. “Extremist rhetoric advocating the forced displacement of Palestinians and the …