To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the International Court of Justice has ruled on the legality of Israeli settlements in Palestinian areas under international law; and, if not, whether they will request the United Nations Security Council to bring forward a case. [HL1777]

The International Court of Justice expressed the following opinion in its Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory of 9 July 2004:

“The court concludes that the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (including East Jerusalem) have been established in breach of international law”.

In its Resolution 446 (1979) of 22 March 1979 the UN Security Council determined that:

“the policies and practices of Israel in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967 have no legal validity and constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East”.