Is the UK condemning West Bank settlements?

Added: 2026-05-07

[00:00:00]The UK is the as a government, it's very clear that Israeli settlements are a flagrant violation of international law.

[00:00:08]However, UK businesses are still running inside those settlements. Um, so how do you explain to a British voter that while the government considers an act illegal, it is still permissible for some businesses to gain profit from that act?

[00:00:26]So, we've been very clear on this that the the scale of illegal settlements that we're seeing being constructed in the West Bank is not only illegal, it's also wrong. The displacement of Palestinians from their communities, from their land is also something that we have raised significant concerns around and we will continue to do that >> because we believe in a two-state solution with a viable Palestinian state alongside an Israeli state. Now you can't have a two-state solution unless there are two states which means we need to have a situation where that can be backed. Now we take seriously um what is happening in the West Bank but that also means we need to look at um how can we use all the levers available to us. Now clearly if there are uh UK firms undertaking illegal action that is something that we will absolutely look at and see if we can act upon. Um but we've been very clear that the Israeli um construction of uh illegal settlements in the rank is illegal is something that doesn't contribute to their security doesn't contribute to a lasting peace and for us that's the argument we must make use the opportunity of the ceasefire to move at pace to a two-state solution. Again, this requires an enormous amount of diplomatic activity, much of which takes place out of view, out of the public view um in in uh difficult meetings where we can make the case, we can listen to different views, be challenged on our views, but also be firm in our view that the Palestinians and the Israelis need a state of their own. They can live peacefully side by side. But to get there, we still have a lot more work to do.