Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had discussions with his Israeli counterpart on the status of unrecognised villages in the (a) Naqab and (b) Negev region of southern Israel.

We continue to monitor the issue of unresolved Bedouin land claims, and unrecognised Bedouin villages, in the Negev/Naqab region, and lack of basic services. We continue to encourage the Israeli authorities and Bedouin communities to engage in dialogue to agree a satisfactory solution to the issue, respecting the rights of the people affected.