Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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45. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will raise at EU level the fact that Israel is denying the Palestinian Authority jurisdiction over Area C which under the UN and various treaties fall within the Palestinian state; and if he will report on his recent visit to the region in view of the fact that the World Bank has estimated that Area C, West Bank is the key to future Palestinian economic development. [39825/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Area C of the West Bank is the area which under the Oslo Accords remained temporarily under Israeli administration, pending a progressive transfer of control to the Palestinian Authority, which was envisaged as taking place within a few years. However, only a small further transfer took place, and for over twenty years now Israel has resisted all suggestions of further transfers. Areas A and B, where the majority of Palestinians live, are islands of Palestinian administrative control surrounded and separated by Area C, which still includes some two-thirds of the West Bank. The future of Area C is therefore in a very real sense the future of the peace process itself. There can be no viable Palestinian state without Area C, and in practical terms it is the hinterland and developmental space for all the Palestinian cities and towns. Large areas of Area C have been taken by Israeli settlements, and Palestinians are excluded from most of Area C by various means including military zones and parks of various sorts. Israeli authorities refuse almost all planning permission to Palestinians in Area C, for houses or other structures, demolishing those that are built, while facilitating the construction of Israeli settler houses. Recent legislative and administrative moves have been described as ‘creeping annexation’, and are not consistent with an intention of ultimately ending the occupation of Area C. The Government is deeply concerned about this. It is for these reasons that the Government in recent years has made the future of Area C, and the associated policies of land seizures, demolitions and evictions, and movement restrictions, the heart of our engagement on the Middle East issue. Area C is Palestinian territory, the construction of Israeli settlements in it is a breach of international law, and the occupation should be ended and the area transferred to Palestinian control as early as possible. I and my officials take every opportunity to raise this at EU, UN and international level. We shall continue to do so.

I have also raised these issues in my engagement with the region, including on my recent visit to Israel and Palestine, where I raised our concerns with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.