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We've just had confirmation that Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer will give a statement in the House of Commons this evening on the sanctions announced today.

The UK government, alongside the likes of New Zealand an Norway, sanctioned Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

According to the leader of the House of Commons, a statement will take place at the end of the main business in the chamber today.

Per today's order paper, the latest this will be is 7pm, when proceedings on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will be finishing up.

The Conservatives say they support a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine "in the right way and at the right time". 

Priti Patel has responded to the UK government's decision to sanction two Israeli ministers, but the shadow foreign secretary has made no mention of the sanctions or whether the Tories support them.

Instead, Patel said "the British government must leverage its influence at every opportunity" to ensure the remaining hostages are released, aid reaches those in Gaza, and a "sustainable end to the conflict is achieved".

Our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn says while the UK's sanctions against two top Israeli ministers is a "major step", critics will wonder why the prime minister himself, Benjamin Netanyahu, has avoided the same treatment.

That point has been put directly to the foreign secretary, David Lammy.

He told broadcasters the two ministers being targeted today, the finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and the security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, had used "horrendous extremist language".

Lammy said he would "encourage the Israeli government to disavow and condemn that language", but didn't say whether the British government would encourage Netanyahu to sack them.

He also refused to label Israel's conduct in Gaza as genocide, or say whether ethnic cleansing was being carried out.

Lammy insisted it was not for him to determine whether Israel was breaching international law in any way, and stressed the need to be "careful with my language".

The UK has announced it is sanctioning two members of the Israeli government - here is everything you need to know at a glance:

Who is sanctioned?

Israel's national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Who has sanctioned them?

This action was taken by the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway - but notably not the US.

Why have they been sanctioned?

The action was taken due to "repeated incitement of violence against Palestinian civilians".

Under what powers was this done?

The countries have used the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020 to designate the ministers "involved persons".

What can't they do?

The ministers have had any UK assets frozen, and are banned from the UK. The same conditions apply in the other countries to have imposed sanctions.

What has the UK said?

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a joint statement with other sanctioning nations that Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have "incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights" - adding "these actions are not acceptable".

The Foreign Office has confirmed sanctions against Israeli government ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

They are being sanctioned by the UK government in conjunction with Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway for what's described as "repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities".

They have had any assets in those respective countries frozen, and are banned from travelling to any of them.

'Encouraging human rights abuses'

Such violence undermines the prospect of a future Palestinian state, a statement says.

The government says it has "made clear in public and private" to Netanyahu's administration its concerns about Ben-Gvir and Smotrich's "inflammatory and extremist statements", which have amounted to "encouraging and inciting human rights abuses".

Foreign Secretary David Lammy added: "We will strive to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate release of the remaining hostages by Hamas which can have no future role in the governance of Gaza, a surge in aid and a path to a two-state solution."

By Dominic Waghorn, international affairs editor

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 on the occupied West Bank.

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 is the country's far right national security minister was once convicted of being a member of 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.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and other senior figures over alleged war crimes. A number of countries and observers have deemed its conduct in Gaza as genocidal.

Israel described today's sanctions as unacceptable and outrageous, but critics will wonder why the Israeli prime minster 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.

Sir Ed Davey has welcomed news of the UK sanctioning Israeli ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.

The Lib Dem leader described their views on Gaza as "utterly abhorrent" and said his party had been calling for them to be sanctioned since February last year.

He said the UK must now "officially recognise" the state of Palestine, giving both Palestinians and Israelis "hope of a lasting peace".

He wants this to happen at a peace conference in New York next week.

The government sanctioning Israel's finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over their comments and conduct during the war in Gaza has been a long time coming.

Last October, former foreign secretary 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.

'Abhorrent'

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

Smotrich has suggested it might be "just and moral" to withhold food aid from Gaza. Ben-Gvir has backed the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank.

Lord Cameron said: "I was looking at the things we could do to say to the Israelis we back your right to self-defence鈥� but at the same time, we do want you to try and obey鈥� 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."

The Speaker has just said there will be a statement in parliament later about the situation in the Middle East.

It comes after the Israeli foreign minister said two government ministers had been sanctioned by the UK.

PA news agency reports they are Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

It comes after Keir Starmer told our political editor Beth Rigby earlier the government was considering sanctions over the war in Gaza.

The prime minister said: "My strong belief is when we make a move, if we're able to do that in the company of other countries, that's a stronger move than doing it on our own.

"So that's the basic approach that we're taking. But we are working on what more we could do in the pretty short term now."

The UK's decision to sanction two Israeli government ministers is "significant", says our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn.

Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, he says, have a history "littered with controversial comments and allegedly racist anti-Arab rhetoric".

It's a break from how the US has been dealing with Israel over the war in Gaza, Dominic says, and "highlights the growing ostracisation of Israel" amid allegations of genocide and war crimes - something it should be stressed the UK government has not levied at its traditional ally.

Who are the two ministers?

Ben-Gvir is the security minister. 

Dominic describes him as a "notorious far right extremist, regarded as a Jewish terrorist by some and an anti-Arab racist".

Smotrich is the finance minister, also on the far right.

Dominic notes his remarks about Gaza have been particularly controversial. He's talked about Gaza "not being allowed a grain of wheat", and "being entirely destroyed", with people forced to move out.