Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the announcement by the government of Israel that it will legalise nine outposts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The UK's position on settlements and outposts is unchanged. They are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace and threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution. The UK joined a number of international partners on 14 February to express our dismay at the decision to legalise nine outposts. This decision will only serve to exacerbate tensions and undermine efforts to achieve a negotiated two-state solution. The UK welcomes the recent talks in Aqaba and Sharm El-Sheikh and in particular the commitment by the Israeli government to stop the authorisation of outposts for six months. We will push the Israelis to make that temporary pause permanent.