France has barred Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country, becoming the latest European state to impose travel restrictions on senior members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced the ban on Tuesday, sharply criticising Smotrich for actively promoting policies that undermine a two-state solution.
In a statement on X, Barrot accused Smotrich of supporting “the annexation of the West Bank, which he openly claims, the creation of new settlements in the West Bank, the re-colonisation of Gaza, the economic collapse of the Palestinian Authority and its harmful consequences for the Palestinian population.”
He added that such policies “cannot be accepted” by the international community.
Avec nos partenaires britannique, canadien, australien, néo-zélandais et norvégien, nous prenons aujourd’hui de nouvelles sanctions contre les responsables de l’intensification de la colonisation et des violences en Cisjordanie.
A titre national, nous avons interdit d’accès à… pic.twitter.com/VwGy3l7l00
— Jean-Noël Barrot (@jnbarrot) June 9, 2026
Smotrich is the second Israeli government minister to be banned from France in recent weeks, following National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in May.
France also banned four leaders of settler organisations and 21 violent settlers.
The move forms part of a broader wave of coordinated Western sanctions targeting Israeli officials and settlers accused of involvement in violence in the West Bank.
The decision marks a further deterioration in relations between France and the current Israeli government.
Paris has long positioned itself as a strong supporter of a two-state solution and has grown increasingly vocal in its criticism of settlement expansion and Israeli policies in Gaza and the West Bank.
Next to the ban for Smotrich, France also joined forces with Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Norway in targeting networks financing and enabling settler attacks.
The UK said that settlement expansion caused violence and undermined the two-state solution. It called for Israel to clamp down on settler violence and end settlement expansion.
“The UK will not hesitate to take further action if the situation does not improve,” it warned.
Critics say that Israel has ignored and even quietly endorsed settlers, fueling more violence.
Israel said the move was part of anti-Israel moves that furthered anti-Semitism.
“Israel firmly rejects the disgraceful measures adopted by foreign governments against Israeli citizens, entities, and a government minister,” the Foreign Ministry said.
They accused the countries of wanting to “impose a political stance regarding the right of Jews to settle in the Land of Israel and concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – camouflaged as measures against violence.”
Israel also condemned the “resounding failure” of the sanctioning states “to combat the anti-Semitism that is rampant in their own countries”.
