Israeli Settlements: Business
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of taking(a) legislative and (b) regulatory steps to prohibit UK (i) nationals, (ii) companies and (iii) financial institutions from conducting business (A) in and (B) with illegal Israeli settlements.
Answered by Mr Hamish Falconer
The UK Government considers Israeli settlements illegal under international law and goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from tariff and trade preferences under the UK's current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Israel.
We support accurate labelling of settlement goods, so as not to mislead the consumer. We routinely update our guidance to British businesses on the Overseas Business Risk website and advise them to bear in mind the UK Government's view on the illegality of settlements under international law when considering their investments and activities in the region.
On 15 October, the Foreign Secretary announced new sanctions targeting three illegal settler outposts and four organisations that have supported and sponsored violence against communities in the West Bank. The Government does not comment on future sanctions measures, as to do so would reduce their impact.
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