Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the UK's strategic, long-term approach to supporting security in the Middle East.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We condemned in the strongest terms Iran's direct attack against Israel on 13 April. The UK will continue to stand up for Israel's security as well as the security of all our regional partners and we are still working with our allies to deescalate the situation.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the (a) Strategic Export Licensing Criteria and (b) licences issued to Israel.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Foreign Secretary continues to discuss all aspects of the current conflict in Israel with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade.
All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of The Technical Report for the United Nations Secretary-General, published on 22 April 2024.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the events that took place on 7 October in Israel are appalling, which is why we took decisive action to pause future funding to the organisation.
We will set out our position on future funding to UNRWA following careful consideration of the final report of the Independent Review Group led by Catherine Colonna, UNRWA's response and the ongoing UN Office for Internal Oversight Services investigation into these allegations.
We remain absolutely committed to getting humanitarian aid to people in Gaza who desperately need it, including through other UN agencies and British charities.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the level of settler violence in the West Bank.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK continues to take a strong stance against settler violence. Extremist settlers, by targeting and attacking Palestinian civilians, are undermining security and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians.
We have already moved to ban those responsible for violence in the West Bank from the UK and announced new sanctions designations against four extremist Israeli settlers who have violently attacked Palestinians in the West Bank.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to help increase access to medical care for children in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are doing all we can to get more aid into Gaza by land, air and sea. A UK Med field hospital, funded by the UK, is up and running in Gaza. This facility is staffed by UK and local medics and has already treated thousands of patients.
We have provided targeted support for children through a £5.75 million contribution. This is supporting work to assist over 5,800 children with severe malnourishment and 853,000 children, adolescents and caregivers affected by the conflict to receive emergency and child protection services, including mental health and psychosocial support.
The Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister have also underlined the need for Israel to ensure effective deconfliction in Gaza, and to take all possible measures to ensure the safety of medical personnel and facilities.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of placing sanctions on (a) Itamar Ben Gvir, (b) Bezalel Smotrich and (c) other Israeli officials that support the expansion of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We urge Israel to halt settlement expansion immediately. We continue to take a strong stance against settler violence and urge Israel to take stronger action to stop settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable.
We do not speculate on future designations.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information he holds on (a) arms exports originating from factories owned by Rafael Defense Systems Ltd and (b) whether such exports have been used by the Israeli military in Gaza.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The export of strategic goods is controlled by export licensing and the government publishes data on its export licensing decisions: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-dataLicences. We continue to monitor closely the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. We will not issue an export licence to any destination where to do so would be inconsistent with the Criteria. Licences are kept under careful review and we are able to amend, suspend or revoke extant licences, or refuse new licence applications, as circumstances require.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his Israeli counterpart on the (a) recent physical assault on Hagop Djernazian and (b) safety of Armenians in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We have not held discussions with Israeli counterparts on the situation in the Cow Garden site of the Armenian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem. The UK is monitoring the situation and is clear on the need to avoid any further rise in tensions. British Consulate General staff in Jerusalem met members of the community on 19 January, discussed the current situation and visited the Cow's Garden site. The UK's position on the status of Jerusalem is clear and long-standing: it should be determined in a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and Jerusalem should ultimately be the shared capital of the Israeli and Palestinian states. The UK is a strong supporter of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and an advocate for the integrity of cultural important areas to be respected. The UK continues to take a strong stance against settler violence and urges Israel to take stronger action to stop settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Foreign Secretary is in close contact with senior Israeli political leaders regarding the wider humanitarian situation in Gaza; he discussed the urgency of getting significantly more aid into Gaza with Prime Minister Netanyahu on 24 January. The UK is appalled by allegations that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned, and announced on 27 January its pause to any future funding of UNRWA whilst we review these concerning allegations. We are looking to our partners in the UN to carry out a robust and comprehensive investigation.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will (a) make an assessment of the implications for his policies of and (b) introduce sanctions following the attempted takeover of the Cows Garden site of the Armenian Quarter of Old Jerusalem.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is monitoring the situation in the Cow Garden site of the Armenian Quarter of Old Jerusalem and is clear on the need to avoid any further rise in tensions. The UK's position on the status of Jerusalem is clear and long-standing: it should be determined in a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and Jerusalem should ultimately be the shared capital of the Israeli and Palestinian states. The UK is a strong supporter of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and an advocate for the integrity of culturally important areas to be respected. The UK continues to take a strong stance against settler violence, and urges Israel to take stronger action to stop settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable. We keep our sanctions under review and reserve the right to introduce further measures.