The UK government has sanctioned two Israeli government ministers due to their “repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian civilians”, the Foreign Office has said.

The two ministers are Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, and the UK is imposing sanctions alongside Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway.

The ministers are being sanctioned in their personal capacities, and are now subject to an asset freeze, travel ban, and director disqualification.

Politics latest: Sanctions ‘a major step’

The Foreign Office says they are “responsible for, engaging in, inciting, promoting and/or supporting activity which amounts to a serious abuse of the right of individuals not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in particular acts of aggression and violence against Palestinian individuals in the West Bank”.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy told broadcasters the two ministers have been “inciting violence” and “encouraging egregious abuses of human rights” for “months”, which he has raised repeatedly with the Israeli government.

He added: “We stand for a two-state solution, and the settler violence that we’ve seen in the West Bank particularly is entirely unacceptable and must stop.”

Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, condemned the decision as “outrageous”, and said he had discussed the move with Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, earlier on Tuesday.

“We will hold a special government meeting early next week to decide on our response to this unacceptable decision,” he added.

Who are the sanctioned Israeli ministers?

Mr Ben-Gvir is the far-right national security minister in the Netanyahu government, and is the leader of the Jewish Power party in the Knesset (parliament).

Our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn explains that he was “once convicted of being a member of a Jewish terrorist organisation and advocated the expulsion of Palestinians from their lands”.

Mr Smotrich is the finance minister and a Jewish settler who has denied the existence of Palestinians as a people. He leads the National Religious Party – Religious Zionism party in the Knesset.

Dominic Waghorn reports that 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.

Allies call for ‘meaningful action’ to stop settler violence

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway said the pair “have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights”, adding: “Extremist rhetoric advocating the forced displacement of Palestinians and the creation of new Israeli settlements is appalling and dangerous.”

“The Israeli government must uphold its obligations under international law, and we call on it to take meaningful action to end extremist, violent and expansionist rhetoric,” they added.

The foreign ministers emphasised that today’s measures “do not deviate from our unwavering support for Israel’s security, and we continue to condemn the horrific terror attacks of 7 October by Hamas”, but rather are “targeted towards individuals who in our view undermine Israel’s own security and its standing in the world”.

“We continue to want a strong friendship with the people of Israel based on our shared ties, values and commitment to their security and future,” they said.

The UK shadow foreign secretary, Dame Priti Patel, said the government must “leverage its influence at every opportunity to ensure the remaining hostages are released, that aid continues to reach those who need it, and a sustainable end to the conflict is achieved”.

She added that the party has “always been committed to supporting a two-state solution – delivered in the right way, and at the right time – and will work with the government to support efforts to achieve this, where those efforts are effective”.

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UK had previously prepared sanctions

Last October, former foreign secretary Lord David Cameron told Sky News he’d planned to sanction them while in government, but “ran out of time” when the surprise election was called for July.

Cameron, who returned to frontline politics under Rishi Sunak, said Mr Smotrich and Mr Ben-Gvir had made “abhorrent” comments.

He said: “I was looking at the things we could do to say to the Israelis we back your right to self-defence… but at the same time, we do want you to try and obey… humanitarian law.

“And these two ministers are people who have tried, they’ve encouraged you, to stop aid getting into Gaza and encouraged the extreme settlers in the West Bank to carry out illegal acts.

“So it seemed to me it was worth looking at whether we could sanction these two individual ministers.”