Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of companies investing in projects located in the Palestinian territories currently governed by the State of Israel.

The Government’s Palestinian Market Development Programme (PMDP) works with Palestinian companies to improve their competitiveness and ability to attract investment and create jobs. PMDP also supports the Palestinian Investment Promotion Agency (PIPA) to deliver better services to potential investors including UK investors. PIPA offers a package of incentives to investors.

PMDP provides technical assistance to support the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy to improve the environment for trade and investment, and is working on an initiative to encourage UK businesses to outsource business in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, especially in the IT outsourcing sector.

No specific assessment has been made of companies investing in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), or those parts of the West Bank, known as ‘Area C’, under full Israeli security and administrative control.