Slovenia has declared two far-right Israeli ministers — Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich — persona non grata, citing their openly genocidal rhetoric and incitement to violence against Palestinians.

The announcement was made Thursday by Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon, marking the first time an EU member state has taken such bold action against high-ranking officials of the Israeli occupation regime.

“Today, the government adopted one of the first national measures, which is to declare two Israeli ministers... unwanted in the Republic of Slovenia,” said Fajon at a press conference. “This kind of measure is the first of its kind in the European Union. We are breaking new ground.”

Ben-Gvir, Israel’s so-called “National Security Minister,” and Smotrich, the regime’s finance minister, are both notorious settlers in the occupied West Bank. They are widely condemned for promoting the violent expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, for endorsing the forced displacement of indigenous Palestinians, and for repeatedly inciting mass violence — including calls for wiping out entire Palestinian villages.

Slovenia’s official government statement strongly denounced the pair for “publicly advocating the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the forced evictions of Palestinians, and calls for violence against the civilian Palestinian population.”

The move comes just weeks after Slovenia recognized the State of Palestine, and only days after the EU failed to reach consensus on taking joint action against Israel for its growing list of human rights violations and war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank.

Foreign Minister Fajon stressed that Slovenia’s unilateral action was a response to that inaction, and signaled that additional measures against Israeli officials and institutions are under consideration.

In June, several other countries — including Britain, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada — imposed sanctions on Ben-Gvir and Smotrich for inciting violence against Palestinians. Yet Slovenia’s step goes further, setting a new legal and diplomatic standard within the EU.

The Slovenian move comes amid Israel’s continued genocidal war on the besieged Gaza Strip. Since the Israeli onslaught began in October 2023 — ostensibly in response to a Hamas-led attack — the occupation regime has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. The overwhelming majority of these victims are women and children.

By contrast, Israeli authorities cite the death of around 1,200 people during the October 7 operation — a number that includes both civilians and military personnel — and the capture of 251 individuals taken into Gaza as prisoners of war.

The scale of destruction and systematic targeting of civilians in Gaza has prompted mounting international accusations of genocide, with several countries and human rights groups submitting evidence to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

By declaring Ben-Gvir and Smotrich unwelcome on its soil, Slovenia has sent a powerful message to the world: that Europe must stop turning a blind eye to Israeli crimes and must uphold international law, even when political pressure from the West says otherwise.

“This is a long-overdue message to Tel Aviv,” said a spokesperson for the Slovenian-Palestinian Solidarity Network. “Europe must stop being complicit in genocide. Declaring war criminals persona non grata is not radical — it is moral responsibility.”

While Israel has yet to officially respond to Slovenia’s move, its far-right ministers are expected to lash out with the usual rhetoric. However, global momentum toward Palestinian recognition and accountability for Israeli war crimes is growing — and Slovenia's bold stance may well pave the way for further international isolation of Israel's extremist regime. (ILKHA)