Israel minister Smotrich banned from France

France Tuesday banned Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country, the French foreign minister said, in the latest sanction slamming Israeli officials over policies towards Palestinian territories and pro-Palestinian activists. Smotrich is the second member of the Israeli government to be forbidden from entering France in recent months, after National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir was barred on May 23 for mocking activists detained by Israeli soldiers from a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying aid for the Palestinian territory.