Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan (Džimas Okalaganas) “instructed immigration officials to prevent Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering the state if they attempted to do so,” according to a statement from the Ministry of Justice sent to news agency AFP.
Last month, far-right minister I. Ben Gvir mocked activists who were detained by Israeli soldiers on an aid flotilla sailing to the Gaza Strip.
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin (Mikalas Martinas) stated that Ireland would take action to prevent the entry of Israeli officials who are believed to be inciting conflict in the Gaza Strip.
I. Ben Gvir became a minister in 2022 when his alliance with B. Smotrich’s far-right Religious Zionism party took third place in the parliamentary elections.
I. Ben Gvir and B. Smotrich together form the core of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s (Benjamino Netanjahu) right-wing coalition government.
Read more Samsung plans to invest 4 billion US dollars in a chip testing factory in Vietnam
The behavior of both ministers, “not only in the context of the flotilla but also their continuous statements (…) essentially amounts to a desire to see the removal of Palestinians from Palestine,” M. Martin told journalists at a summit in Montenegro on Friday.
“In my opinion, their behavior would justify sanctions at the EU level as well,” he stated.
Last month, France also banned I. Ben Gvir from entering the country due to his behavior. The United Kingdom (UK) banned both ministers from entering in June 2025, and other countries, including Spain and Slovenia, later followed suit.
Ireland is one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip following the bloody Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, and in 2024, it recognized the State of Palestine.
Shortly thereafter, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar ordered the closure of his embassy in Dublin, blaming Ireland’s “extreme anti-Israel policy” for the decision.
Read more Fuel price effect: In Lithuania, the number of electric cars is growing like mushrooms
