Borrell says EU must mull sanctions on Ben Gvir, Smotrich for ‘incitement to war crimes’

The European Union foreign policy chief says the bloc should consider sanctioning far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for comments he says constitute “incitement to war crimes.”

Writing on X, Josep Borrell condemns Ben Gvir for once again urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cut all aid and fuel to the Gaza Strip.

He also slams Smotrich’s “sinister statements” and says he supports UN rights chief Volker Turk in his condemnations — appearing to refer to the finance minister’s recent remark that starving 2 million Gazans in order to get the Hamas hostages back might be “justified and moral,” which Turk condemned.

“Sanctions must be on our EU agenda,” Borrell writes.

“I urge the Israeli government to unequivocally distance itself from these incitements to commit war crimes,” he says, adding that Jerusalem must show “good faith” in talks for a ceasefire and hostage deal.