Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the government of Israel is planning (1) to expand settlements in East Jerusalem, and (2) to isolate the Beit Safafa and Sharafat neighbourhoods, before 20 January 2021.

The UK's position on settlements is clear. They are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace, and threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution. As the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa made clear in his statement of 18 November, Israel's decision to advance the construction of 1,257 settlement buildings in the Givat HaMatos area of the occupied West Bank risks causing serious damage to the prospects for a viable Palestinian State. We condemn this decision, which is incompatible with Israel's declared goal of peace, and call for both the tender process and the advancement of other settlements in East Jerusalem and elsewhere in the West Bank to be suspended immediately.