Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel regarding (1) the right of Palestinians living in Israel (a) to hold Israeli citizenship, and (b) to vote in Israeli elections, and (2) statements by the Minister for Internal Security in that country regarding the extension of Israeli sovereignty over the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Palestinian citizens of Israel have full citizenship rights, including voting in elections. However, we are aware that Palestinians who live in East Jerusalem do not enjoy the same rights. We regularly raise issues related to the situation in East Jerusalem, for example evictions and demolitions of property as well as revocation of residency rights, with the Israeli authorities and the Jerusalem municipality. It has been the position of the UK government since 1967 that the Occupied Palestinian Territories (the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza) are not lawfully part of the State of Israel. The Foreign Ministers of France, Germany and Italy, the Foreign Secretary of the UK, and the Secretary of State of the US set out on 14 February in a statement their support for a "comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East, which must be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties.