Thank you for contacting me about Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs).
I appreciate how important this matter is to you, and to many of my constituents.
I recognise that the situation in the West Bank is tense. I firmly support Israel’s right to defend itself against security threats. However, I urge Israeli authorities to do so in a way that minimises the risk of further instability or escalation. My colleagues in the previous Government encouraged Israel to release frozen funds to the Palestinian Authority, to halt settlement expansion and to hold to account those responsible for extremist settler violence. The current Government must continue to raise these matters with the Israeli Government and press Israel to do more to tackle settler violence and end its illegal expansion of settlements, which undermine prospects for the realisation of the two-state solution.
It is important that the UK Government works with our international partners to press for a sustainable and lasting end to the conflict in Gaza, which I believe must involve an increase in aid getting into Gaza, and an end to the terror inflicted by Hamas and Iran. In the longer term, I continue to support a negotiated settlement leading to a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state, and I support the Government's decision to recognise the state of Palestine as a step towards preserving the Two State Solution.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
