Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on the planned demolition of the village of Khan Al-Ahmar in the East 1 planning zone.

The British Government is gravely concerned about continued demolition of Palestinian property by the Israeli authorities including proposals to demolish the Bedouin village of Khan al Ahmar. An official from our Embassy to Tel Aviv discused this issue with the Israeli authorities on 4 April. The Foreign Secretary expressed our concern about the proposals to demolish Khan al-Ahmar when he met Prime Minister Netanyahu in Israel on 8 March. I also raised it with the Israeli Ambassador to London on 1 March. On 28 February our Deputy Consul-General to Jerusalem visited Khan al Ahmar along with EU Heads of Mission, and our Ambassador to Tel Aviv raised our concerns over the proposed demolition with the Israeli authorities.