Slovenia is the first in Europe to recognize two Israeli ministers as persona non grata

Slovenia has declared two Israeli cabinet ministers persona non grata. Slovenia became the first EU country to take such a step, Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said. reports Reuters.

We are talking about the extreme right-wing Minister of National Security Itamir Ben-Gvir and Minister of Finance Bezalele Smotrych. They were accused of making "genocidal statements" and inciting violence against Palestinians.

According to Fajon, Slovenia took this step after the EU foreign ministers failed to agree on joint actions against Israel at a meeting on July 15 in connection with allegations of human rights violations.

"This kind of national event is the first of its kind in the European Union. We are opening new horizons. Other events are being prepared," she said, without going into details .

The government of Slovenia claimed that Israeli ministers allegedly publicly advocated the expansion of "illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank" and "forced eviction of Palestinians." And in 2024, the country recognized the independent Palestinian state.

• on April 10, Macron said that France could recognize a Palestinian state at the UN conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which France will co-chair with Saudi Arabia in June.
• However, on June 6, the French Foreign Minister said, that the country would not do it on its own.
• The UN conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was supposed to take place on June 13 . However, it was postponed due to Israel's military operation against Iran.