Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what advice they have received from the National Security Advisor and His Majesty's Ambassador to Israel regarding the timing of the announcement of sanctions of goods from Israeli settlements ahead of the Israeli general election on 27th October; and what consideration they have given to that advice.

It is a long-standing convention that Governments do not comment on the content of advice provided by National Security Adviser to Ministers. The Government announced its measures on 8 September because it judged them necessary to respond to the deteriorating situation on the ground and support the viability of a two-state solution. The measures are designed to stop UK economic activity supporting the expansion of illegal settlements. The UK will continue to distinguish between Israel within its internationally recognised borders and the territories occupied since 1967.