Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they will take with their international partners in respect of the government of Israel's decision to retrospectively legalise the previously illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories of the West Bank.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), issued a statement on 7 February condemning the passing of the Land Regularisation Bill and expressing concern that the bill paves the way for significant growth in settlements deep in the West Bank, threatening the viability of the two-state solution. The UK also welcomes the recent statement by Federica Mogherini, Vice-President of the European Commission, condemning the adoption of the bill.