UN resolution 2334 on the Israel/Palestine Conflict

I can assure those concerned that UK Government does not support the singling out of Israel, nor the politicisation of UN institutions by the Palestinians. Britain is a friend and ally of Israel. I am a member of the Conservative Friends of Israel and have visited the country to see the challenges it faces.

 Israel is an example to the rest of the world for overcoming adversity and defying disadvantages. It is a thriving democracy and a beacon of tolerance and I am pleased that the UK is Israel's second largest trading partner. 

UK Government policy remains clear, however, that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law, an obstacle to peace and make a two-state solution, with Jerusalem as a shared capital, harder to achieve and that is why the UK supported this resolution at the UN on 23 December. 

Government Ministers consistently urge the Israeli authorities to cease all settlement building and to remove illegal outposts.

It is my understanding that the Resolution was proposed and drafted by the Egyptian delegation. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the UK engaged with the text as it does with all Security Council texts.