EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Thursday he has started the process of asking member states if they want to impose sanctions on “some Israeli ministers.”

He did not name the ministers, but he was likely referring to far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, both of whom he has suggested sanctioning in the past.

“I initiated the procedure to ask the member states if they consider [it] appropriate to include in our list of sanctions some Israeli ministers [who] have been launching unacceptable hate messages against the Palestinians, and proposing things that clearly go against international law,” Borrell told reporters ahead of a meeting with EU foreign affairs ministers in Brussels.

In a post to X earlier this month, Borrell condemned comments by the two ministers and said, “Sanctions must be on the EU agenda.”

He referred to “sinister statements” by Smotrich, who had suggested it would be “moral” to intentionally starve 2 million Gazans until Hamas releases its hostages, and to Ben Gvir’s repeated calls to withhold fuel and other aid from the enclave.

Israel has been at war with the Hamas terror group in Gaza since October 7, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists burst into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 40,000 people in the Strip have been killed, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 17,000 combatants in battle and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.

Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.

Nevertheless, many countries and organizations have accused Israel of violating international law, including the Genocide Convention, during its campaign — including by intentionally withholding food aid, a charge Israel strenuously denies, pointing to efforts to facilitate the delivery of aid to the enclave.

Critics often cite statements by Israeli officials — though not necessarily those setting war policy — as either evidence of genocidal intent or as violations in and of themselves, indicating a failure by Israel to prevent and punish incitement to genocide, as the convention requires.

Last month US officials told The Times of Israel that the Biden administration had considered including Ben Gvir and Smotrich in its own sanctions against extremist settlers accused of attacking Palestinians in the West Bank. Two US officials said the idea was raised several times.

US President Joe Biden rejected the idea, arguing that the US should not be sanctioning elected officials. But the proposal resurfaced as Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians continued, and as Israeli authorities continued taking steps to expand their footprint in the West Bank, the officials said.

The EU, as well as the US, Canada, the UK, and France have all sanctioned violent settlers in recent months, in the wake of a surge of incidents in the West Bank since October 7, and a 15-year high in 2023.

Jacob Magid contributed to this report.