Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they intend to take internationally to require Israel to lift the blockade of Gaza.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
In order to secure a lasting ceasefire, it will be vital to address the underlying causes of the conflict, including easing access restrictions to open up the economy of Gaza, whilst addressing Israel’s legitimate security concerns. There cannot simply be a return to the status quo ante. The UK will work with international partners, including the EU and the UN, to support this goal.Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they will take to secure an independent international investigation of the level of civilian deaths and casualties in Gaza arising from Israel's military intervention in that territory to establish whether breaches of international law have occurred.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Government has not made any plans to take action to secure an independent international investigation into the Gaza crisis. The time to carry out any actions on this issue is in the future, once the situation in Gaza has de-escalated.
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will take action to place an arms embargo on Israel.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK aims to have one of the most rigorous and transparent export licence regimes in the world with strict criteria governing the provision of licences. On 11 August the British Government announced the findings of its review of licensed exports to Israel. It found that the vast majority of exports currently licensed for Israel are not for items that could be used by Israeli forces in operations in Gaza in response to attacks by Hamas.
However, twelve licences were identified for components which could be part of equipment used by the IsraelI Defence Forces in Gaza. Currently there is a ceasefire in place and the Government continues to urge both sides to respect this and to secure a lasting end to hostilities through the negotiations taking place in Cairo. However, in the event of a resumption of significant hostilities, the Government is concerned that it would not be able to clarify if the export licence criteria were being met. It would therefore suspend these licences as a precautionary step.
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of Israeli civilians who have been (1) killed, and (2) wounded, as a result of rockets fired at Israeli cities in the past fortnight; what assessment they have made of the number of Palestinian civilians living in Gaza who have been (1) killed, and (2) wounded, as a result of the latest military intervention by Israel in Gaza; and what proportion of those Palestinian casualties they estimate were children.
Answered by Baroness Warsi
As of 24 July, two Israeli civilians have been killed (one by mortar bomb, one by rocket fire). 11 Israeli civilians have been injured. The Palestinian Ministry of Health figures, as of afternoon of 24 July, records the number of Palestinian civilians killed as 738 and injured as 4620. As of the morning of 24 July, 170 Palestinian children have been killed and 1,213 children have been injured.
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria they use to determine whether military action, such as that by Israel in Gaza, is proportionate.
Answered by Baroness Warsi
The UK’s criteria for determining whether military action is proportionate are set out in the Joint Service Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict (Ministry of Defence publication available on our website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-manual-of-the-law-of-armed-conflict-amendments-to-the-text), which states that the losses resulting from a military action should not be excessive in relation to the expected military advantage.
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether Gaza could seek legal redress for disproportionate military intervention by Israel in the territorial integrity of Gaza.
Answered by Baroness Warsi
In our statements and discussions with the Israeli authorities, we have been clear that while Israel has a right to defend itself, it must do so in a way that complies with international law, including the principles of proportionality and necessity. The Government would expect any alleged violations of international law in the course of military operations to be subject to a full, impartial and independent investigation by the State in question.
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government of what state they regard Gaza to be a part.
Answered by Baroness Warsi
The Government regards Gaza as part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, along with the West Bank.
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Palestinian civilians in Gaza they estimate were (1) killed, and (2) wounded, in the 2009 Israeli military operation in Gaza.
Answered by Baroness Warsi
According to reports received by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1400 Palestinians were killed, and over 5,000 Palestinians were injured, during Operation Cast Lead, which took place between 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009.