Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has taken recent steps to help support Palestinians affected by the evictions from Masafer Yatta.

The UK opposes these evictions. Demolitions and evictions of Palestinians from their homes cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians; call into question Israel's commitment to a viable two-state solution; and in all but the most exceptional of cases, demolitions by an occupying power are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, reiterated this position to Israeli Foreign Minister Cohen during his visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in January, at which time he also visited a UK-donor funded school in Masafer Yatta. Lord Ahmad has also raised the issue of demolitions with Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, in subsequent meetings. The UK continues to provide financial and political support for communities like those in Masafer Yatta through its contributions to the West Bank Political Consortium and staff at the British Consulate General in Jerusalem make regular working-level visits to Masafer Yatta, most recently on 16 April.