Posted on 11 June 2025
Israeli right-wing Knesset member Itamar ben Gvir (L) and Bezalel Smotrich. Photo: Maya Alleruzzo / POOL / AFP via RNZ
The Council for International Development (CID) welcomes the New Zealand Government’s decision to impose travel bans on Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. As Foreign Minister Winston Peters stated, these individuals have “severely and deliberately undermined peace and security” by promoting the annexation of Palestinian land, expanding illegal settlements, and inciting violence and forced displacement.
New Zealand joins Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Norway in this coordinated international response. These sanctions are a principled stand aligned with New Zealand’s longstanding commitment to human rights and international law.
Importantly, as Peters affirmed, “Our action today is not against the Israeli people, who suffered immeasurably on October 7 and who have continued to suffer through Hamas' ongoing refusal to release all hostages. Nor is it designed to sanction the wider Israeli government.” This targeted approach rightly focuses on individual accountability, not collective punishment.
Peters also noted that the sanctions are consistent with New Zealand’s broader foreign policy approach: “New Zealand has also targeted travel bans on politicians and military leaders advocating violence or undermining democracy in other countries in the past, including Russia, Belarus and Myanmar.”
CID supports the Government’s clear distinction between condemning the harmful actions of specific officials and upholding relationships with the Israeli people. We continue to encourage New Zealand’s advocacy for a lasting humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, safe access for aid agencies, and renewed diplomatic efforts towards a viable two-state solution.
Source: RNZ, (11 June 2025)