LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenia's new conservative government on Thursday abolished an entry ban on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and two of his ministers, marking a shift in policies toward Israel that had been pursued by the previous center-left government.
The government of populist Prime Minister Janez Jansa also lifted a ban on imports from Jewish settlements and ended an embargo on the export and transit of military weapons and equipment
to and from Israel, the official STA news agency reported.
Jansa's government took office earlier this month following a parliamentary election in March. Jansa has said he would seek to improve ties with Israel, in a contrast to the policies of his predecessor, Robert Golob.
Under Golob, Slovenia was one of the most vocal critics of Israel in the European Union. The small Alpine nation recognized a Palestinian state in 2024, before imposing the entry bans in 2025 on National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Netanyahu.
Ben-Gvir was banned also by France last month. He has sparked global outrage after promoting a video of himself taunting the activists from a flotilla to Gaza who were detained by Israeli police.
The new Slovenian government said in its statement that it was scrapping the punitive measures to open political communication, the official STA news agency reported. The Defense Ministry said that weapons trading is already sufficiently regulated by existing national defense laws and the EU arms export criteria, the same report said.
Political dialogue and quiet diplomacy will help “strengthen the role of the Republic of Slovenia in the efforts to achieve a lasting peace in the Middle East,” the government said. It cited “active cooperation” over “actions that limit and close off channels for direct communication.”
Last year, Slovenia linked the entry ban for Netanyahu to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.
Shortly after taking office, Jansa's government removed a Palestinian flag from the government building, also symbolically marking the policy shift. Slovenia's liberal president, Natasa Pirc Musar, then raised the flag on the presidency building.
Also this month, Israel announced that it would open an embassy in Slovenia. The country's embassy in Austrian capital Vienna has previously covered Israel's diplomatic interests in neighboring Slovenia.
Jansa is serving his fourth term in office. The political veteran is an admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump and was a close ally of former populist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was defeated in a landslide election in April.
The March 22 election was marred by allegations of foreign influence and corruption. The population of around 2 million in the Alpine nation are deeply divided between liberals and conservatives.
