Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they have taken to prevent the construction of any illegal settlement infrastructure by the government of Israel on Palestinian territory.

We consistently call for an immediate end to all actions that undermine the viability of the two-state solution, including settlement expansion within the West Bank. As the UK made clear on 16 October, in a joint statement alongside France, Germany, Italy and Spain, we are deeply concerned by the recent decision taken by the Israeli authorities to advance more than 4,900 settlement building units in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The Minister for the Middle East also expressed concern about settlement advancement in Givat Hamatos on 18 November and Har Homa on 25 November. We regularly raise settlements with the Government of Israel; UK officials raised settlements with the Israeli Ambassador to the UK on 18 November. The UK's position on settlements is clear. They are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace, and threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution. Settlement expansion is also a counterproductive move in light of the positive developments of normalisation agreements reached between Israel, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.