On Thursday 9 February MPs will debate a motion on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in the House of Commons Chamber.

This debate will be led by Sir Desmond Swayne, Mark Williams, Chris Bryant, Tommy Sheppard & Dr Tania Mathias.

A transcript of the debate will be available to read on “Commons Hansard “ three hours after the debate.

The Motion to be debated

“That this House reaffirms its support for the negotiation of a lasting peace between two sovereign states of Israel and Palestine, both of which must be viable and contiguous within secure and internationally recognised borders; calls on the Government to take an active role in facilitating a resumption of international talks to achieve this; welcomes UN Security Council Resolution 2334 adopted on 23 December 2016; and further calls on the government of Israel immediately to halt the planning and construction of residential settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories which is both contrary to international law and undermines the prospects for the contiguity and viability of the state of Palestine.”

Backbench Business Committee

The Backbench Business Committee meets weekly on Tuesdays to consider requests for debates from any backbench Members of Parliament on any subject.

The Committee then has to decide how to allocate the limited Parliamentary time it has at its disposal. The Committee’s meetings are always conducted in public and can be watched on Parliament TV.