Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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399. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is aware that the Israeli Government has approved the building of 900 new illegal colonial settlement units in east Jerusalem, that this is in complete violation of international law, and that it is exacerbating the huge tension in the region, and is clearly working against a two-state solution; if he will raise concerns with his Israeli counterpart; and in view of continued expansion of illegal settlements, if he will officially recognise the State of Palestine. [19487/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I have very clearly expressed my condemnation of Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territory on a number of occasions, and I have also focused strongly on this issue in discussions at EU level and bilaterally. The issue informed our discussions at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels yesterday. It is clear that continued settlement expansion is gravely damaging to the prospects for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. I will continue to raise this issue. Israeli authorities are in no doubt whatever of our strong views on the issue. The question of recognition of Palestine, or of any state, is an important issue to be considered on its own merits, and not as a punishment or reward for one side or the other.