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Thursday, July 17, 2025
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, July 17, 2025
In EU first, Slovenia to bar Smotrich, Ben Gvir from entering over ‘genocidal statements’
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Left: National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, January 16, 2025; Right: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, January 13, 2025. (Both photos by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Slovenia announces that it will ban two far-right Israeli ministers from entering the country, in what authorities say is a first in the European Union.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, key coalition partners of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will each be declared “persona non grata,” the government says in a statement, accusing them of inciting “extreme violence and serious violations of the human rights of Palestinians” with “their genocidal statements.”
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