Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the new US Administration on the issue of Israeli annexation of Palestinian land.

The UK works closely with the US on matters relating to the Middle East Peace Process. We strongly opposed any move to annex all or part of the West Bank. Such a move would be contrary to international law and deeply damaging to prospects for lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The UK welcomed the suspension of annexation as part of the normalisation agreement between the Government of Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and subsequent resumption of cooperation between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

The Biden Administration has also outlined their opposition to unilateral acts, including annexation, settlement construction and demolitions. We are now focused on building on these positive steps to encourage greater cooperation between the parties and further confidence-building measures. We look forward to working with the US, alongside regional partners, and the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships, to pursue that goal.