Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the Regulations Bill in that country since 7 December 2016.

I raised the issue with the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister when we met in London on 12 December. I have also raised the issue with the Israeli ambassador to London and have issued two press statements on the issue. The UK is extremely concerned that the Knesset has passed the first reading of a bill which would expropriate privately owned Palestinian land and pave the way for a significant further expansion of settlements in the West Bank. This would be illegal under international law, and once again calls into question the Israeli government's commitment to a two-state solution. The UK urges the Israeli government to reconsider the land regulation bill at the earliest opportunity.