Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the current situation in the West Bank.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is aware of the fragile security situation in the West Bank and we are monitoring developments closely. We look to all parties to take urgent steps to de-escalate tensions. The British Ambassador to Israel and British Consul General in Jerusalem have been engaging with the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships to support them in restoring calm. We engage closely with the US at all levels on these important issues. FCDO officials, including from the British Embassy Tel Aviv and the British Consulate-General in Jerusalem, also engage with the US on a regular basis, including to discuss the situation in the West Bank.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral evidence of the Prime Minister to the Liaison Committee on 6 July 2022, Q49 to Q52, if she will investigate the nature of the meetings undertaken in Italy by the Foreign Secretary who served from July 2016 to July 2018.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
On 6 July the Prime Minister committed to write to the Liaison Committee; this letter will be placed in the Library in due course.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the ruling of the Israeli supreme court on the situation in Masafer Yatta.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
During my first visit to the OPTs this week, I hope to meet with the Palestinians affected by the ongoing demolition and eviction orders at Masafer Yatta and raise our concerns on the impact with the relevant authorities. The UK is clear that in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions and evictions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. Our opposition to the demolition of Palestinian property and the evictions of Palestinians from their homes is long-standing. The practice causes unnecessary suffering to Palestinians and is harmful to efforts to promote peace.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what funding the UK Government is providing for education in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to (a) UNRWA and (b) the Palestinian Authority.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Budgets for 2020 were outlined in our Statistics in International Development report available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-final-uk-aid-spend-2020. Our future spending allocations will be set in the next Spending Review and full budgets for 2021 will be published in due course, including in our regular Statistics on International Development website and in the FCDO Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what funding the Government is providing for health services in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to (a) United Nations Relief and Works Agency and (b) the Palestinian Authority.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Budgets for 2020 were outlined in our Statistics in International Development report available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-final-uk-aid-spend-2020. Our future spending allocations will be set in the next Spending Review and full budgets for 2021 will be published in due course, including in our regular Statistics on International Development website and in the FCDO Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what funding the UK Government is providing for security in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to (a) UNRWA and (b) the Palestinian Authority.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Budgets for 2020 were outlined in our Statistics in International Development report available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-final-uk-aid-spend-2020. Our future spending allocations will be set in the next Spending Review and full budgets for 2021 will be published in due course, including in our regular Statistics on International Development website and in the FCDO Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to the (a) Palestinian Authority and (b) Israeli Authorities on the urgent need for elections to renew the democratic mandate of the Presidency and the Parliament.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are disappointed that elections in the Occupied Palestinian Territories have been postponed. The Palestinian people should be allowed to enjoy their democratic rights - and Israel must allow voting for Palestinians in East Jerusalem, in line with the Oslo Accords. We urge further work towards genuine and democratic national elections for all Palestinians, which is crucial to the establishment of a viable and sovereign Palestinian State.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Israeli government on covid19 vaccinations in that region.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The British Embassy Tel Aviv and the British Consulate-General Jerusalem are in regular contact with the relevant parties and continue to raise the issue of timely access to vaccines. The Foreign Secretary most recently raised this during his visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 26 May. The UK is committed to global equitable access to effective vaccines as demonstrated by our £548 million contribution to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) - the international initiative to support global equitable access to vaccines. We are pleased that the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) were among the first to benefit from the COVAX scheme with delivery of over 61,000 doses that arrived on 17 March 2021. Since that initial shipment, we are pleased that several further deliveries have arrived in the OPTs, including most recently on 1 June 2021.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what additional funding the Government plans to provide for emergency assistance to Gaza.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
I announced on 20 May that the UK is providing an initial £3.2 million to UNRWA's emergency flash appeal, which launched on 19 May. The emergency appeal by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) focuses on meeting the immediate humanitarian needs of vulnerable Palestinians living in Gaza.
This UK support will help UNRWA deliver life-saving humanitarian aid to those that need it most. Existing UK aid to UNRWA is already helping the Agency to provide food supplies to more than one million refugees in Gaza this year. The international community needs to ensure UNRWA is able to save lives and reduce the suffering.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on UK funded projects in Gaza of the 11 day Israeli bombardment.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK welcomes the announcement of a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza on 20 May, which is an important step to ending the cycle of violence and loss of civilian life. It is now important for Israel to facilitate rapid humanitarian access in and out of Gaza. As the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have made clear, this cycle of violence must stop.
We have not yet completed an assessment of the effect of the conflict on UK supported programmes. We are following up with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which the UK funds, on their initial assessment of damage to their installations and interruption to services. The World Bank is commencing a more comprehensive Rapid Damage and Needs assessment, which is expected to report in one month.