Making good on a promise: Czech Republic vows to block EU sanctions on Israeli minister Ben-Gvir

The Czech Republic will block any EU attempt to sanction Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. That is what Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka said, warning EU partners to "not even try or we will block" such a proposal. Macinka described Ben-Gvir as "a terrible person, an unbearable individual" whose behavior "really goes beyond the pale," but argued that sanctions would backfire by turning him and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich into "victims of some anti-Zionist conspiracy by the West" ahead of Israeli elections in late October. "Paradoxically, we would actually help them by doing this," he said.

EU diplomats have begun work on sanctioning Ben-Gvir over his treatment of activists attempting to deliver aid to Gaza. Czech opposition is expected to stymie those efforts, likely forcing member states to act unilaterally. France and Ireland have already done so.

The EU last month secured unanimous backing for sanctions on violent West Bank settlers, the first such consensus since the height of the Gaza crisis. Ben-Gvir and Smotrich were initially on that list but were removed to broaden support.

The announcement comes just a few weeks after Israeli FM Gideon Sa'ar visited Prague, where Macinka went further, pledging that the Czech Republic would block all further EU trade sanctions against Israel. "We will not allow any more trade sanctions even if we have to block it as a single country," Macinka said. He also vowed to prevent any suspension or freezing of Israel's association agreement with the EU.

Sa'ar and Macinka co-hosted a business forum attended by around 200 Israeli and Czech businesspeople. Bilateral trade between the two countries surpassed $1.4 billion in 2025, and Israeli tourism in the Czech Republic jumped 33.4% compared to 2024.