The UK Labour Government has taken the serious and absolutely necessary step of imposing sanctions on Israeli government ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, in response to their incitement of violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

This decision follows a sustained period of escalating Israeli settler violence and extremist rhetoric, which has undermined the safety of civilians, Palestinians and Israelis alike, and poses a grave threat to further regional destabilisation and the viability of a two-state solution.

The deterioration in the West Bank is stark. Last year marked the highest levels of settler violence in two decades. This year, the trajectory is even more alarming, with dozens of illegal outposts erected in breach of both international and Israeli law. We are seeing the consequences of this extremist rhetoric peddled by those in positions of authority being turned into reality.

That is why we have acted. Alongside international partners including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway, the UK is sending a clear signal: where individuals in government abuse their position in office to promote violence, we will hold them to account.

These sanctions are not a token measure; they are a firm and correct response to behaviour that violates the values we should all be held to and the principles necessary for lasting peace.

Our message is, and always has been, consistent. The UK will always champion the right of Palestinians to live in peace and dignity and support Israel’s right to exist in security. The actions we have taken target individuals whose conduct threatens to undermine both of these goals.

The crisis in the West Bank cannot be viewed in isolation from the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza. The UK Labour Government, as we have consistently done so, continues to call for an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, and the unfettered flow of humanitarian aid. We have committed £101 million this year in support of the Palestinian people and continue to work with international partners to strengthen the Palestinian Authority and support any meaningful efforts for peace.

This Government is clear, as we have been on every such occasion since the outbreak of hostilities, that the only path to lasting peace is a negotiated two-state solution, with a sovereign Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel.

Continued violence serves no one. It is only through concerted diplomatic efforts that peace can be achieved.

Read my previous statements on Israel and Gaza here: