This is a major step from Britain and a number of other countries against Israel, and one that puts them at odds with Washington.

It adds to the growing ostracisation of Israel over its war in Gaza and conduct in the occupied West Bank.

Read more: UK government sanctions Israeli ministers

Bezalel Smotrich is Israel’s far-right finance minister, a Jewish settler and someone who has denied the existence of Palestinians as a people.

He has most recently said “not a grain of wheat” should be allowed to enter Gaza, saying it will be “entirely destroyed” and its people should be encouraged to leave in great numbers to go to other countries.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, the country’s far-right national security minister, was once convicted of supporting a Jewish terrorist organisation and advocated the expulsion of Palestinians from their lands.

Their critics will say their sanctioning has been a long time coming, is largely symbolic, and will achieve little.

The British government singles out Israel’s conduct in the West Bank as grounds for its action against the two men.

Extremist Jewish settlers have run rampant across the occupied territories under Benjamin Netanyahu‘s government, with 1,900 recorded acts of violence against Palestinians since January last year.

The Netanyahu government has approved a record number of new Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Under international law, all settlements on occupied land are illegal.

Politics latest: Sanctions ‘a major step’

Israel is increasingly isolated over its war in Gaza and actions on the West Bank.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Mr Netanyahu and other senior figures over alleged war crimes.

A number of countries and observers have deemed its conduct in Gaza as genocidal.

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Israel described the sanctions as unacceptable and outrageous.

However, critics will wonder why the Israeli prime minister is not sanctioned himself for keeping two such deeply controversial figures in his government.

There is, though, a good reason for keeping them.

Without them, his fragile coalition would almost certainly fall from power. The price for that though is only increasing.

Police have released video footage of the alleged killer of a 14-year-old boy unboxing a samurai sword and calling the weapon “freaking sexy”.

Marcus Monzo, 37, denies murdering teenager Daniel Anjorin and attempting to kill four others during a 20-minute rampage in Hainault, east London, on 30 April last year.

Jurors at the Old Bailey have been shown a four-minute video clip from 4 April, which was recovered from his iPhone after his arrest.

The Spanish-Brazilian national, from Newham in east London, appears to be reviewing a sword he says was “handmade in Japan” and “took more than a month to reach me”.

Dressed in a yellow hoodie, black shorts, toe socks and flipflops, and wearing headphones, he is standing on black mats next to a ginger cat he calls the “Wizard”.

A martial arts-style punching bag and another sword on a skateboard can be seen in the background.

“This just came through… Ninja stuff,” he says before opening a long box containing a sword. “So I’m sort of obliged to do some ninja stuff with the Wizard.”

Monzo also says “freaking sexy” and “ooh” as he lunges and makes different moves with the sheathed sword.

The court has previously heard Monzo was a “talented martial artist”.

Prosecutors said he “killed and skinned” his cat before driving his grey Ford Transit van at speed into pedestrian Donato Iwule.

He then struck him in the neck with the same weapon used to kill Daniel, who suffered “essentially a near-decapitation”, the jury was earlier told.

PC Yasmin Mechem-Whitfield was also repeatedly struck with the 60cm blade, before Monzo entered a nearby house and attacked a couple inside, then struck another police officer, it is alleged.

Monzo has pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing an offensive weapon – a katana sword and a tanto katana sword.

He denies charges of murder, attempted murder, wounding with intent, aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article.

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The jury has been told there is no issue about who carried out the attacks and that Monzo was under the influence of cannabis at the time.

But prosecutors say his psychotic state was self-induced and does not meet the threshold for diminished responsibility.

The trial continues.

A crime gang who made “assassination kits” containing handguns and silencers were busted after an extensive police investigation.

Four men are awaiting sentence after armed officers swooped on the operation and discovered tools and machinery for making viable firearms.

Ronald Knowles, of Milton Avenue in Alfreton, Derbyshire, acquired blank-firing handguns and ammunition, which he then altered so they could fire live bullets.

Police say he was part of a “well-established and far-reaching criminal enterprise”.

Gary Hardy, of The Birches, Ravenshead, Nottinghamshire, organised and controlled the supply of these “assassination kits”, police said.

Each kit was individually packaged containing a handgun, silencer, magazine and ammunition wrapped in latex gloves.

These were then sent to Steven Houston, of Breach Oak Lane, Corley, Warwickshire, who supplied these weapons to members of the criminal underworld.

These included a known criminal, Jason Hill, of Derby Road, Risley, Derbyshire. Officers raided Hill’s house where they found two handguns, two silencers and ammunition in a safe hidden in the garden.

“They were creating, packaging, and distributing firearms that were designed to kill, there is no doubt about this,” Detective Chief Inspector Mark Adas, from Nottinghamshire Police, said, adding that evidence revealed at least 33 firearms had been manufactured in Knowles’ factory.

“Each handgun had been threaded to fit a silencer, which allowed the gun to be used discreetly at close quarters, meaning any potential targets would be lucky to escape with their lives.”

Each assassination kit included 10 rounds of converted ammunition and the seizure of more than 800 blank firing rounds and nearly 800 lead pellets indicated the group had the potential to supply up to 80 further firearms packages.

DCI Adas said the men had no idea police were “tracing their every step” to build a case against them.

“The full impact of this investigation will never be seen – that’s because we are unable to count the number of lives we may have saved,” he added.

In August 2023, after lengthy investigation, police stopped a vehicle in Measham, Leicestershire. Inside, they found a white box containing four of the “assassination kits”.

Detectives linked the guns to both Hardy and Knowles and swooped on Knowles’ property, where they say he was found in his back garden setting fire to evidence.

Knowles, 64, pleaded guilty to conspiracy with others to sell or transfer a firearm, conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life or enable another person to do so, and conspiracy with others to convert a thing into a firearm.

Hardy, 61, was found guilty of conspiracy with others to sell or transfer a firearm, conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life or enable another person to do so, and conspiracy with others to convert a thing into a firearm.

Houston, 64, was found guilty of conspiracy with others to sell or transfer a firearm, conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life or enable another person to do so, and conspiracy with others to convert a thing into a firearm.

Hill, 23, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent by means thereof to endanger life or to enable another person by means thereof to endanger life.