Al Jazeera Staff<\/b> <\/a>Published: June 5, 2026.<\/i><\/p>\nIreland has banned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country, citing their treatment of pro-Palestinian activists and their support for policies that would drive Palestinians from their homeland.<\/p>\n
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin\u2014officially known as the Taoiseach \u2013 confirmed the move on Friday and stated that the two far-right ministers hold a position that amounts to \u201ea desire to wipe the Palestinians out of Palestine.\u201d.<\/p>\n
Both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have repeatedly called for Israel to annex Palestinian territories and to expel Palestinians from Gaza, a stance that has drawn condemnation from human rights groups and several foreign governments.<\/p>\n
Martin also referred to the treatment of pro-Palestinian activists who were part of an aid flotilla bound for Gaza last month. Ben-Gvir sparked widespread outrage when he shared a video in which he mocks the detained activists as they knelt on the ground, blindfolded and with their hands tied behind their backs.<\/p>\n
According to a statement from the Irish Department of Justice, Justice Minister Jim O\u2019Callaghan has instructed immigration officials to deny entry to Ben-Gvir and Smotrich should they attempt to enter the country.<\/p>\n
Ben-Gvir became a minister in 2022 after his coalition with Smotrich\u2019s far-right Religious Zionist Party finished third in the parliamentary elections.<\/p>\n
Smotrich, who himself lives in an illegal Israeli settlement, is a vocal advocate of Israel\u2019s annexation of the occupied West Bank, and has previously stated that he hopes to \u201ekill the idea of a Palestinian state\u201d as well.<\/p>\n
Ben-Gvir and Smotrich together form the cornerstone of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s right-wing coalition.<\/p>\n
\u201eJustifies EU sanctions\u201d<\/h3>\n
Speaking at a summit in Montenegro about the Irish travel ban, Martin stated that EU-wide sanctions should also be imposed on the two Israeli ministers.<\/p>\n
\u201eIn my opinion, their behavior warrants sanctions even at the EU level, and we will raise this issue; whether we can secure sufficient support for this within the European Union is another matter\u201d \u2014 RTE, the Irish public broadcaster, quoted Martin as saying.<\/p>\n
Since the start of Israel\u2019s attacks on Gaza, Ireland has been one of Israel\u2019s most vocal critics. In 2024, Ireland officially recognized the State of Palestine, following which Israel ordered the closure of its embassy in Dublin.<\/p>\n
Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have already been barred from entering other European countries due to their behavior, including the United Kingdom, Spain, and Slovenia. Last month, France also banned Ben-Gvir from entering the country.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Martin \u00edr taoiseach (minisztereln\u00f6k) szerint a sz\u00e9ls\u0151jobboldali miniszterek kinyilv\u00e1n\u00edtott\u00e1k \u201eazon v\u00e1gyukat, hogy a palesztinokat elt\u00fcntess\u00e9k Palesztin\u00e1b\u00f3l\u201d. Al Jazeera Staff Megjelent: 2026. j\u00fanius 5. \u00cdrorsz\u00e1g megtiltotta Itamar Ben-Gvir izraeli nemzetbiztons\u00e1gi miniszter \u00e9s Bezalel Smotrich p\u00e9nz\u00fcgyminiszter beutaz\u00e1s\u00e1t az orsz\u00e1gba, a palesztinbar\u00e1t aktivist\u00e1kkal szembeni viselked\u00e9s\u00fckre, valamint azon politik\u00e1k t\u00e1mogat\u00e1s\u00e1ra hivatkozva, amelyek el\u0171zn\u00e9k a palesztinokat a haz\u00e1jukb\u00f3l. Micheal Martin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rs_blank_template":"","rs_page_bg_color":"","slide_template_v7":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[31,2,19],"tags":[96,153,104],"class_list":["post-2432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-az-izraeli-kormany-politikajanak-kritikaja","category-featured","category-news","tag-izrael","tag-kozel-kelet","tag-palesztina"],"modified_by":"Antipropaganda H\u00edrblog","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}