To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the extent to which the Israelis are using the cover of hostilities to increase the settlement of the occupied territories.

We have no information to suggest that settlement activity has intensified since the beginning of hostilities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the living conditions in the occupied territories; and if he will make a statement.

We have seen a worrying decline in living standards in the occupied territories since the Gulf crisis began. We are particularly concerned at the impact of the continuing curfew and have made our views known to the Israeli authorities.