State-backed Settler Violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

As you may be aware, in April 2025, I visited the West Bank with a fellow parliamentarian. What I witnessed there reinforced concerns I had long held from reports by human rights organisations, journalists and international observers. I saw a system of apartheid, and occupation maintained through pervasive Israeli military and police intervention and complicity, severe restrictions on Palestinian freedom of movement, and the constant threat of violence from an enforced dispossession by armed settlers. 

I witnessed the atmosphere of impunity within which extremist settlers operate and heard repeated accounts of intimidation, land seizures, attacks on homes and livelihoods, and the failure of the Israeli authorities to provide protection or accountability. 

Too often, reports frame these settler attacks as “clashes” between two equal parties. Palestinians are living under military occupation and are frequently subjected to violence, dispossession and collective punishment. 

I have raised concerns about these matters repeatedly in Parliament and will continue to do so and will continue to press Ministers to make clear representations to the Israeli authorities regarding settler violence. Please find links to my previous statements here.