Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar refused to speak with his British counterpart, David Lammy, when the latter called on Tuesday evening to “update him” on the decision to impose sanctions on Ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

According to a Ynet report, Sa’ar’s refusal is considered a highly unusual move due to the close alliance between Israel and the UK.

But the Foreign Ministry explained that the move was taken in response to the British move, which was “unprecedented in its severity.”

The Trump administration on Tuesday slammed the sanctions as “extremely unhelpful,” with State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce saying, “They should focus on the real culprit, which is Hamas.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)