Oral Answers to Questions

Paul Foster Excerpts

Tuesday 21st April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Jeff Smith (Manchester Withington) (Lab)]

8. What diplomatic steps her Department is taking to oppose the expansion of illegal settlements in the west bank.

[Mr Paul Foster (South Ribble) (Lab)]

21. What diplomatic steps her Department is taking to oppose the expansion of illegal settlements in the west bank.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Yvette Cooper)]

Mr Speaker, may I join the tributes to Her late Majesty the Queen?

The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that over 2,500 Palestinians have been displaced by evictions, settler violence and demolitions this year alone. The UK is clear that Israeli illegal settlements and decisions designed to further them are a flagrant violation of international law. Our position is clear and unequivocal: the Israeli Government must stop the expansion of settlements, stop the threats of forcible displacement and annexation, and stop the unacceptable levels of settler violence.

--- Later in debate ---

[Yvette Cooper]

My hon. Friend will know that we have already introduced three packages of sanctions related to settler violence in the west bank, including measures against Cabinet members in their personal capacity, for their incitement of violence. We continue to look at the issue of sanctions. My hon. Friend is right to point out that this is fundamentally about the two-state solution, and it also risks undermining the Gaza peace process. The UK recognised the state of Palestine in September directly to support the viability of a two-state solution, and that continues to be at risk.

[Mr Foster]

After the destruction of Gaza and the deaths of in excess of 72,000 Palestinians, it is evident that the Israeli Government have turned their attention not only to Lebanon and Iran, but also to the west bank. In the west bank there are now daily reports of extreme violence and death, as well as the forceful eviction of Palestinians and the continued expansion of illegal Israeli settlements. That is not only immoral, but yet further evidence of illegal Israeli Government-sponsored activity. Does the Secretary of State agree that the violence in the west bank must stop immediately, as must the continued expansion of illegal settlements? Can she assure the House that despite the continuing conflicts in Ukraine, Lebanon, Iran and Sudan, the Government are very much still focused on Gaza and the west bank?

[Yvette Cooper]

I agree with my hon. Friend. The number of settler attacks has reached new heights, and there were more attacks in 2025 than in any year since the United Nations started recording such incidents more than 20 years ago. These attacks are horrendous, and they must stop. I have continued to raise the issue directly with the Israeli Government and our international partners. I also agree that in the end, all the work that is rightly being done to get progress and talks in Lebanon, and to find stability elsewhere in the middle east, will be badly undermined and will topple over if there is not action over the west bank.