Source · Select Committees · Foreign Affairs Committee
1st Report - Israel-Palestine conflict
Foreign Affairs Committee
HC 488
Published 25 July 2025
Recommendations
13
Deferred
Extend sanctions to all businesses operating within illegal Israeli settlements in West Bank.
Recommendation
The Committee welcomes the sanctions that the Government has imposed on illegal outposts and violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Until these settlements are curtailed and the violence ends, these sanctions should be sustained and extended to all businesses …
Read more
Government Response Summary
The government's response for this recommendation (Paragraph 77, concerning sanctions and the ICJ Advisory Opinion) instead addresses a different recommendation (Paragraph 84) regarding encouraging other countries to normalise relations for a two-state solution.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
View Details →
21
Deferred
Support the Palestinian Authority in building its capacity for the Palestinian people and donors.
Recommendation
As institution-building is an area where the UK has expertise, the Government should support the Palestinian Authority to build its capacity, which would be in the best interests of both the Palestinian people and foreign donors. (Recommendation, Paragraph 107)
Read more
Government Response Summary
The government's response for this recommendation (Paragraph 107, concerning capacity building for the Palestinian Authority) instead addresses a different recommendation (Paragraph 123) regarding support for evidence collection for international criminal courts in Gaza.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
View Details →
Conclusions (3)
7
Conclusion
Deferred
The Committee agrees with the position taken by successive UK Governments, that the two-state solution is the only possible positive outcome in this conflict. The UK, along with France—the co-signatory of the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement—should now recognise the state of Palestine while there is still a state to recognise. An …
Government Response Summary
The government's response did not address the recommendation to recognise the state of Palestine, instead focusing on the UK's established position on Israeli settlements and related economic activities.
11
Conclusion
Deferred
The Government has halted trade talks with Israel and further progress on the 2030 Roadmap and we expect that to continue until an internationally- recognised peace settlement has been agreed. (Conclusion, Paragraph 64)
Government Response Summary
The government notes the conclusion and states its clear position that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, and goods from them are not entitled to trade preferences. It advises against economic involvement in settlements, but does not explicitly confirm or deny the halting of trade talks or commit to their continued suspension.
22
Conclusion
Deferred
This Committee did not inquire directly into the role of UNRWA, and as such does not make any conclusions here. (Conclusion, Paragraph 114)
Government Response Summary
The government partially agrees (with an unstated recommendation), discusses its consistent call for compliance with international law and accountability, and its support for UNRWA at the ICJ. It then states a particular model for atrocity investigations would not work in Gaza.