Asked by: Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the remarks made by the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Palestinian Authority calling for legal action against the UK over the Balfour Declaration, what representations they have made to the Palestinian Authority regarding the delegitimising of the State of Israel.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Officials from our Consulate-General in Jerusalem have discussed the remarks with Palestinian officials and politicians.
Asked by: Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the remarks regarding litigation over the Balfour Declaration made by the Foreign Affairs Minister and the President of the Palestinian Authority, what representations they have made to the Palestinian Authority regarding a return to direct negotiations without preconditions between it and the government of Israel.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Officials from our Consulate-General in Jerusalem have discussed the remarks about litigation with Palestinian officials and politicians. We continue to urge a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, although we have not called for a return to direct bilateral negotiations without preconditions. The UK’s vision for a future two-state solution is clear. It should be based on 1967 borders with agreed land swaps, Jerusalem as the shared capital of both states, and with a just, fair and agreed settlement for refugees.
Asked by: Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of reports that hospitals in northern Israel have spent $10 million treating wounded Syrians; and how many of these were combatants.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are aware of patients from Syria being treated in Israeli hospitals. We have not made any assessment of how many of those being treated were combatants.
Asked by: Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment have they made of recent reports that Hamas intends to use building materials to rebuild tunnels to attack Israel.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK has recently invested £0.5m in the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM), specifically a Materials Monitoring Unit, to ensure that any reconstruction materials made available to Gazans to repair their homes are closely tied to an assessment of needs and subjected to rigorous spot checks. This will safeguard against the risk of building materials being diverted towards building tunnels.