Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had discussions with his Israeli counterpart on the reported shooting of two Palestinian children in Jenin on 29 November 2023.

The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon has publicly expressed that he was appalled by news of this particular incident in the West Bank and called for a full investigation; we are clear that the targeting, and on occasions killing, of Palestinian civilians, especially children, is completely unacceptable. As both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have emphasised to Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is critical that Israel abides by its obligations under international law and acts to reduce tensions in the West Bank to stop the conflict spreading. As the Foreign Secretary announced on 14 December, the UK is now banning those responsible for settler violence from entering the UK.