Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Israeli counterpart on the legalisation of nine settlement outposts on 12 February 2023.

The UK's position on settlements is clear, as set out in a statement made by the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany and Italy, the Foreign Secretary of the UK, and the Secretary of State of the US on 14 February. They are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace and threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution. We urge Israel to halt its settlement expansion. The Minister for the Middle East, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, set out this message during a call with the Israeli Ambassador to the UK on Thursday 16 February.