Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I accept the continued expansion and development of Israeli settlements constitute a major barrier to peace in the region. Last week I had the opportunity to visit an area in the Palestinian territory adjacent to land that has been marked out for further settlement. I had the opportunity to engage with local public representatives in that regard.

Settlements and their related policies in the majority of the West Bank, known as Area C, seem to be designed to drive the Palestinians from the bulk of the land they occupy and to crowd them into cities under the control of the Palestinian Authority. I believe these procedures are incompatible with what could be described as a genuine commitment to a peaceful and viable two-state solution. It also casts a doubt on the good intentions of any government that pursues them. I had the opportunity to say that directly at a meeting with the Israeli foreign Minister, Mr. Lieberman. In public statements in September and again at the end of October I explicitly condemned the Israeli Government announcements of further settlement expansion and called for these decisions to be reversed.

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