Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take either unilaterally or with other EU states in response to the refusal of the Israeli government to reverse its most recent expropriation of land near Etzion and Bethlehem.

The UK deplores Israel’s decision to expropriate 988 acres of land near Etzion and Bethlehem. The UK, along with a number of EU counterparts, and the European External Action Service, continues to urge the Israeli authorities to reverse this decision. Discussions are continuing with EU partners about what more can be done to discourage Israeli settlement activity.