Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will raise the matter of settler violence in the South Hebron Hills with the Israeli Government.

Our position is clear: we strongly condemn any incidence of violence against settlers by Palestinians. Reports of Palestinian civilians being murdered by settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are appalling. Israel must take tangible steps to grip settler violence, and to hold those responsible accountable. The Prime Minister and the former Foreign Secretary have raised this with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Cohen, and we have also stressed the importance of the Israel security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population. As the Prime Minister said, we stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, who are also victims of Hamas. We continue to urge all sides not to take steps which would inflame tensions and move us away from the cause of peace.