Ben-Gvir & Smotrich Persona Non Grata (Unwelcome Persons) | Gaza Church Massacre: No Mistake – Day 650 Of Gaza Genocide.

JULY 18, 2025 – In a historic and symbolic rebuke of Israel’s far-right leadership, Slovenia has declared Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich persona non grata, citing their inflammatory rhetoric and role in inciting violence against Palestinians amid the ongoing war in Gaza. The decision comes as international outrage grows over Israel’s bombing of Gaza’s only Catholic church, an attack France has condemned as “unacceptable,” with church leaders rejecting Israel’s claims of error.

Slovenia’s Ban: A European First.

Slovenia’s move marks the first time an EU member state has formally barred Israeli government officials over alleged complicity in atrocities. The decision, announced Thursday, names National Security Minister Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Smotrich, two of the most extreme figures in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, as inciters of “extreme violence and serious human rights violations.”

Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said the decision was aimed at sending a message to Israel that it must halt its brutal campaign in Gaza and respect international humanitarian law.

“Their genocidal statements and disregard for Palestinian lives are incompatible with the values of the European Union,” Fajon said after the cabinet session.

Ben-Gvir, leader of the Jewish Power party, has called for limiting humanitarian aid to Gaza and expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Smotrich, of the Religious Zionist Party, notoriously called in 2023 for the Palestinian village of Huwara to be “wiped out,” sparking global condemnation. In June 2025, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Norway imposed sanctions on both ministers, freezing assets and barring travel.

Slovenian MEP Matjaž Nemec welcomed the ban, saying, “Those who reject international law and pose a threat to humanity are not welcome.” Social media reaction was mixed, with critics accusing Slovenia of ignoring Israel’s “right to self-defence,” and others praising the move as a long-overdue step against Israeli impunity.

While largely symbolic, neither minister was likely to visit Slovenia soon, the decision signals mounting European disillusionment with Netanyahu’s far-right government and its conduct in the Gaza war, which has now entered its 650th day.

Gaza Church Bombing: ‘No Mistake’.

The Slovenian announcement coincides with global condemnation of Israel’s airstrike on the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza, the enclave’s only Catholic church, which killed at least two civilians and destroyed parts of the centuries-old site.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, one of the highest Catholic authorities in the region, has called the attack a deliberate and indefensible violation of sacred space.

“This was not a mistake,” said the Deputy Patriarch of the Latin Church, speaking to Al Jazeera. “It is part of a broader reality of indiscriminate destruction in Gaza. The horror of this attack on our church is only a fraction of the daily suffering inflicted on Palestinians.”

France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot issued a rare public rebuke of Israel, calling the attack “unacceptable” and reminding Tel Aviv that the Church has historically been under French protection since the 16th-century Ottoman capitulations, a diplomatic arrangement giving France stewardship over Christian holy sites in Palestine.

“The Church of the Holy Family is not only a place of worship, it is a symbol of coexistence and sanctuary,” Barrot said. “France strongly condemns this violation.”

Mass Killing In Gaza Continues:

The church bombing is the latest atrocity in what many rights groups, UN officials, and legal experts now describe as a campaign of genocide against the Palestinian people.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, since October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have killed over 100,000 Palestinians and wounded approximately 377,000 others, the majority of them women and children. These figures, impossible to independently verify due to the collapse of Gaza’s health infrastructure, reflect the unprecedented scale of destruction.

Israel’s official death toll since October 7 stands at 888, in addition to the initial 1,200 Israelis killed and 251 hostages taken during Hamas’s surprise attack, a tragedy which the Netanyahu government continues to use to justify the obliteration of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, shelters, and religious institutions.

Humanitarian aid to Gaza has been severely limited, with famine spreading rapidly and UN officials warning of deliberate starvation as a weapon of war. Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have both publicly called for the halting of aid into Gaza, arguing that food, fuel, and medical supplies “strengthen Hamas”, a position widely condemned as collective punishment under international law.

Global Pressure Mounts, But US Support Remains:

Slovenia’s ban adds to growing diplomatic isolation for Israel’s far-right ministers, but Washington remains staunchly supportive. US Ambassador Warren Stephens responded to Slovenia’s move by reiterating that “The United States stands firmly in support of Israel and its right to defend itself against terrorism.”

This unwavering US backing comes despite increasing criticism from rights groups and European allies. Observers note that no EU-wide consensus has been reached on sanctions against Israeli officials, though several national parliaments, including in Ireland, Spain, and Belgium, have debated similar measures.

Meanwhile, Israel’s war strategy remains unchanged, with no credible postwar plan for Gaza, and its leadership continuing to frame criticism as anti-Semitic or pro-terrorist, a tactic critics say is intended to shield war crimes from scrutiny.

A Line In The Sand?

Slovenia’s decision may mark the beginning of a new diplomatic front in the fight for Palestinian rights. This symbolic but potent gesture could inspire other EU states to take action.

For Gaza’s devastated Christian and Muslim communities alike, the hope is that international condemnation will translate into tangible consequences for Israeli officials responsible for the ongoing destruction.

As the Deputy Patriarch in Jerusalem concluded:

“This war is not just against Gaza. It is a war against humanity, against international law, and against the dignity of all people.”

Conclusion: A Moment Of Reckoning For A Complicit World.

Slovenia’s decision to declare Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich persona non grata is more than a diplomatic gesture; it is a warning shot across the bow of a morally bankrupt status quo. As Gaza is systematically reduced to rubble, the vast majority of the international community continues to provide cover for a regime that has not only slaughtered tens of thousands of civilians but also desecrated churches, levelled mosques, and deliberately dismantled an entire society.

The bombing of the Church of the Holy Family, Gaza’s only Catholic sanctuary, was not a tragic mistake, as Israeli officials claim. Nor were the more than 150 mosques destroyed across Gaza, including centuries-old places of worship, reduced to dust with families still sheltering inside. These are not collateral casualties in a war against Hamas; they are deliberate acts of cultural and religious erasure, targeting the spiritual and communal heart of Palestinian life. In a campaign increasingly described by legal experts as genocidal, no hospital, no school, no church or mosque has been spared.

Yet those responsible, including Ben-Gvir, who called for cutting food to Gaza, and Smotrich, who openly advocated wiping out Palestinian villages, continue to operate with near-total impunity, enabled by billions in military aid and blank-check political support from the United States and its allies. Even as bodies pile up and holy sites burn, the defenders of this carnage still speak of “self-defence”, a term so degraded it now serves as a euphemism for mass slaughter.

Slovenia’s stance is a rare rupture in this wall of silence, a clear message that fascistic rhetoric and genocidal policies will no longer go unchallenged, at least not everywhere. But symbolic sanctions alone are not justice. They must be the first step toward meaningful accountability: travel bans, arms embargoes, war crimes prosecutions, and an end to the decades-long shielding of Israeli leaders from international law.

The world is not witnessing a war; it is witnessing the systematic destruction of the indigenous, captive population and the erasure of its religious, cultural, and human identity. The question is not whether genocide is taking place. The evidence, the mass graves, the bombed churches and mosques, the starving children, is overwhelming.

The real question is: Who will be remembered as complicit, and who will act to stop it?

This is not merely a test of policy. It is a test of conscience. And history will not be kind to those who failed it.