General Debate on International Trade and Geopolitics
On Thursday 20 April there will be a general debate on international trade and geopolitics. The debate will be opened by Darren Jones MP.

This Debate Pack has been prepared ahead of the debate on 'Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories', to be held on Thursday 9 February 2017. The subject for the debate has been chosen by the Backbench Business Committee, following a representation by Sir Desmond Swayne, Mark Williams, Chris Bryant, Tommy Sheppard and Dr Tania Mathias.
Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (204 KB , PDF)
The West Bank and Gaza have been occupied by Israel since 1967, and are collectively known as the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). Before the 1967 war, the West Bank was part of Jordan whilst Gaza was part of Egypt.
Following the beginning of the occupation in 1967, many Israelis moved into purpose-built Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza (though the settlements in Gaza were demolished by the Israeli Government in 2005, and the settlers forcibly evacuated). When the West Bank was divided into Areas A, B and C in the mid-1990s, areas containing Jewish settlements were generally classed as Area C, and hence remained under Israeli control.
The UN Security Council in December adopted resolution 2334 which states settlements have ‘no legal validity’:
The UK Government voted in favour of the resolution. In the weeks since the Resolution the Israeli Government has announced plans to construct several thousand new settlement homes. The Foreign Office has condemned “the increased pace of settlement activity” and says such action makes a two-state solution “much harder to achieve.”
The Government has also condemned demolitions of Palestinian buildings which the Israeli authorities say lack building permits. Data collected by UN OCHA suggests that Israel demolished or seized over 1,000 Palestinian-owned structures in the West Bank and Jerusalem in 2016, the highest number since recording began in 2009.
Benjamin Netanyahu met Prime Minister Theresa May in London on 6 February 2017 where they discussed the establishment of a new UK-Israel Trade Working Group, Iran and the Middle East Peace Process.
Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (204 KB , PDF)
On Thursday 20 April there will be a general debate on international trade and geopolitics. The debate will be opened by Darren Jones MP.
A briefing paper charting the creation and development of the Northern Ireland border
The WHO is negotiating a treaty on pandemic preparedness. The briefing outlines what has been proposed, where negotiations are up to, and what comes next.