Israeli Settlements

(asked on 14th December 2016) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of preliminary approval having been given by the Knesset of Israel to a bill to retroactively legalise Jewish settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, what is the most recent estimate of the total number of unofficial Jewish settlement outposts in the West Bank; what is their assessment of the impact of such legislation on any two-state solution for Israel; what representations they have made, alone and with other governments, to the government of Israel in respect of the plans; and what steps they are taking to monitor the impact of any such representations.


This question was answered on 23rd December 2016

The UK is extremely concerned that the Knesset has passed the first reading of a bill which would retroactively “legalise” around 55 settlement outposts, 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. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr. Ellwood), raised the issue with the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister when they met in London on 12 December. ​Minister Ellwood also raised the issue with the Israeli ambassador to London and issued two press statements expressing the UK's concerns.

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