Asked by: Baroness Elliott of Whitburn Bay (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of Palestinian structures demolished by Israel in Area C of the West Bank that have received funding from the (a) UK, (b) EU and (c) UN.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK has not directly funded any structures in recent years that have been demolished by the Israeli Government.
According to the EU, 155 Palestinian structures, including 67 in Area C, were demolished or seized in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) over the period 1 March to 31 August 2017.
39 structures funded by the EU or its member states were demolished or seized throughout the West Bank in the same period. A further 34 EU funded structures were demolished in January and February. We have no numbers for how many UN funded structures have been demolished or seized in the same period of time.
Asked by: Baroness Elliott of Whitburn Bay (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterparts on compensation for the demolition of UK-funded Palestinian structures in Area C of the West Bank.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK has not directly funded any structures in recent years that have been demolished by the Israeli Government. We are keeping the case for compensation under review. The UK is focused on preventing demolitions from happening through our funding to the Norwegian Refugee Council legal aid programme which helps residents challenge decisions in the Israeli legal system.
Asked by: Baroness Elliott of Whitburn Bay (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make urgent representations to the Israeli Government to consider reversing the recent demolition orders served to the village of Khan al- Ahmar in the occupied West Bank.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Government is gravely concerned about demolition of Palestinian property by the Israeli authorities, including plans to demolish the Bedouin village of Khan al Ahmar. I raised this issue with the Israeli Ambassador to London on 1 March. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv last raised our concerns with the Israeli authorities on 28 February.
Asked by: Baroness Elliott of Whitburn Bay (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will discuss with his Israeli counterparts the effect of the Land Regularisation Bill recently passed by the Israeli Knesset on the number of Israeli settlements on the West Bank.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
I issued a statement on 7 February condemning the land regularisation law. We are gravely concerned by the law, which will retroactively legalise 53 outposts and pave the way for significant growth in settlements deep in the West Bank, threatening the viability of the two-state solution. The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) and the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) both expressed concerns about settlement activity when they met Prime Minister Netanyahu in London on Monday 6 February.
Asked by: Baroness Elliott of Whitburn Bay (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has received on the humanitarian situation in Yemen.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
I receive a wide range of representations on the humanitarian situation in Yemen, including from non-governmental organisations and other government departments. Yemen is one of the most serious humanitarian crises in the world. The UK is the fourth largest donor to the conflict in Yemen and I regularly raise humanitarian issues with the Coalition. Most recently, The Foreign Secretary discussed the humanitarian situation at the Quint meeting, between US, UK, United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UN, in Bonn on 16 February.