Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said that her country declared two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, persona non grata, according to Reuters.
Slovenia becomes the first European Union country to take such a decisive step in response to Israeli military operations in Gaza since October 2023 and their mounting violence against Palestinians.
The Slovenian government has accused both ministers of making “genocidal statements” and inciting violence against Palestinians.
“Today, the government adopted one of the first national measures, which is to declare two Israeli ministers… unwanted in the Republic of Slovenia,” Fajon told a news conference.
Meanwhile, the Israeli government which has repeatedly rejected accusations of genocide in Gaza, has not issued any response.
Crucially, this significant step comes after EU Foreign Ministers’ failure to agree on joint action against Israel over charges of human rights violations at a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday.
“This kind of measure is the first of its kind in the European Union. We are breaking new ground,” she said.
Slovenia’s government issued a statement saying both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich “publicly advocate the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the forced evictions of Palestinians, and call for violence against the civilian Palestinian population”.
Mounting Pressure in West Bank
This decision comes at a crucial time as violence against Palestinians in the West Bank is growing with increasing number of killings and attacks by settlers and security forces.
Israeli settlers’ violence against Palestinians has sparked anger and frustration towards the US as Palestinians mourned the death of two men, one of them a Palestinian American, killed by settlers.
Approximately 1 million Israeli settlers live in illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in violation of international law.
OHCHR noted that settlers have launched 757 attacks on Palestinians or their properties since January 2025.
In May, Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israel planned to build a “Jewish Israeli state” in the occupied West Bank, according to Al-Arabiya.
Katz’s remarks followed Israel’s announcement of the creation of 22 new settlements in the West Bank.
He also noted that the new settlements would be a clear message to French President Emmanuel Macron and his associates: they will recognize a Palestinian state on paper – but Israel will build the Jewish Israeli state here on the ground.
Related Topics:
UN Rights Office Reports Increasing Settler Attacks in Occupied West Bank
Likud Ministers Urge Netanyahu to Annex West Bank
Palestinian Bedouins Flee West Bank out of Settler Violence
