Ireland bars Israeli ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for anti-Palestinian rhetoric, joining EU nations in sanctions.
DUBLIN: Ireland announced on Friday it has banned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country, slamming their behaviour towards pro-Palestinian activists.
Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan “has instructed immigration officers to refuse entry to Itamar Ben Gvir — Minister for National Security of Israel, and Bezalel Smotrich, Minister of Finance of Israel — should they seek to enter the state,” a justice ministry statement sent to AFP said.
After the far-right minister Ben Gvir mocked activists seized by Israeli soldiers on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla last month, Irish taoiseach (prime minister) Micheal Martin said Ireland would act to bar entry of Israeli officials seen as fomenting conflict in Gaza.
Firebrand Ben Gvir became a minister in 2022, after an alliance with the far-right Religious Zionist party of Bezalel Smotrich came third in legislative elections.
Together, Ben Gvir and Smotrich form a cornerstone of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition government.
The two ministers’ behaviour “not just in the context of the flotilla, but their consistent statements… essentially amount to a desire to see the elimination of Palestinians from Palestine”, Martin told reporters during a summit in Montenegro on Friday.
“In my view, their behaviour justifies sanctions at the EU level as well,” he said.
Last month, France also banned Ben Gvir from entry over his conduct. Britain barred the two from entry in June 2025 and other countries have followed, including Spain and Slovenia.
Ireland has been among the most outspoken critics of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in the wake of the deadly October 2023 Hamas militant attack on Israel, and recognised the Palestinian state in 2024.
Soon after, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar ordered the closure of its Dublin embassy, blaming Ireland’s “extreme anti-Israel policies”.
