Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Israel on the rights of residents in Masafer Yatta in the West Bank.

The Government condemns settler violence, and we are clear that the Israeli government must crack down on settler violence, stop settlement expansion, halt demolitions of Palestinian homes and reject annexation of the West Bank. The Foreign Secretary continues to raise the rights of Palestinians and the need for Israel to hold settler violence to account in his engagements with Israeli counterparts. We have always been clear that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and harm prospects for a two-state solution. The demolitions of Palestinian homes causes unnecessary suffering to Palestinians. In all but the most exceptional of cases, demolitions by an occupying power are contrary to international law. Israel must cease its policy of demolitions and provide a clear route to construction for Palestinians in Area C.