Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what meetings he or Ministers in his Department have had with civil society or religious groups based in the UK to discuss the situation in Israel and Palestine since the start of July 2014; and which such groups have met on what dates.

Since the start of July, I have held two meetings with civil society/religious groups based in the UK to discuss the situation in Israel and Palestine.

On 5 August, I held a meeting with a delegation from the British Arab Association. Representatives from the British Arab Association, Syrian Association, Sudanese Association, Young Arab Professionals, Arab Women Association, Yemeni Association, Palestinian Return Centre and the Palestinian Forum in Britain attended.

The other meeting was also held on 5 August with Non-Governmental Organisations. Representatives from Amnesty International, Oxfam, Save the Children, Christian Aid, Action Aid, Welfare Association, Quakers, Medical Aid for Palestinians, British Red Cross, Catholic Aid Agency for England and Wales (CAFOD), Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU) and Friends of Birzeit University attended. This was a joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office-Department for International Development (DFID) meeting with myself and DFID Minister of State for International Development, The Rt Hon Desmond Swayne.