Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the Israeli government on the construction of settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

The UK’s position on Israeli settlements is clear: they are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace and take us further away from a two state solution. I made a statement on 30 January, urging the Government of Israel to reverse its decision to publish new tenders for 450 settlement units in the West Bank. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv continue to lobby repeatedly against settlement activity with a range of Israeli contacts.