Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of trends in the number of Palestinians arrested by Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank.

We are aware of reports covering Israeli security force actions in the West Bank, including the arrests of Palestinians. As both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have emphasised to Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is critical that Israel acts to reduce tensions in the West Bank to stop the conflict spreading.