Norway and UK sanction right-wing Israeli ministers
The announcement was a rare joint action alongside the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand and comes as the Israeli government faces growing international criticism over its conduct of the conflict with Hamas.
"The situation in Gaza is catastrophic," Norway's prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre said in
a press statement
. "It is crucial that the international community makes it clear that Israel's violations of international law are completely unacceptable."
He said that the two government members had "long incited violence and the displacement of the Palestinians".
The sanction sees the five countries break from Israel's closest ally, the United States.
Ben Gvir and Smotrich "have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights", the foreign ministers of the five countries said in a joint statement.
"These actions are not acceptable. This is why we have taken action now –- to hold those responsible to account," they added.
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Smotrich and Ben Gvir are part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's fragile ruling coalition.
Both have drawn criticism for their hard-line stance on the war in Gaza and comments about settlements in the occupied West Bank, the other Palestinian territory.
Smotrich, who lives in a West Bank settlement, has supported the expansion of settlements and has increasingly called for the territory's annexation.
Last month, he said Gaza would be "entirely destroyed" and that civilians would "start to leave in great numbers to third countries".
Ben Gvir has also called for Gazans to be resettled from the besieged territory.
"What these two have said and done goes far beyond what is allowed in a civilized country, "Norway's foreign minister, Espen Barth Eide,
told public broadcaster NRK
.
He said he hoped the sanctions would have a significant effect because five countries had joined forces to impose them.
The goal, he said, was to work for a lasting peace solution in the Middle East.
"We have previously referred to Gaza as 'hell on earth'. Now it has become worse with very little emergency aid. This must end and we must move forward with a two-state solution.
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Earlier, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel had been informed by Britain of its sanctions decision, describing the move as "outrageous".
While the UK is imposing economic sanctions on the ministers, Norway is only "considering economic sanctions", a decision which drew criticism from the Socialist Left and Green Party, both of which accused the government of being weak and acting too slowly.
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