Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of the recently reported reductions in funding from the US to co-existence projects in Israel-Palestine on peace efforts in that region.
Answered by Alistair Burt
DFID is aware of reports that USAID is currently unable to support coexistence projects in the West Bank and Gaza. The UK supports coexistence work both within green line Israel and across the Israel-OPTs boundary. All types of coexistence work can be valuable and help to foster greater understanding between communities from both sides of the conflict. Ultimately, however, the only way to achieve lasting coexistence is through a negotiated two-state solution that ends the occupation and delivers peace for both Israelis and Palestinians.