Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they had with the Royal College of Defence Studies about its decision to ban Israeli soldiers next year.

UK military educational courses have long been open to personnel from a wide range of countries, with all UK military courses emphasising compliance with international humanitarian law.

However, the Israeli Government’s decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong. There must be a diplomatic solution to end this war now, with an immediate ceasefire, the return of the hostages and a surge in humanisation aid to the people of Gaza. We have therefore paused future Israeli participation in UK-run courses.

The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) is a constituent part of the Ministry of Defence, and as such implements Government policy and decisions. All relevant teams across the Department, including RCDS, were informed of the decision to pause the future allocation of places on UK training and education courses to Israel.