Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to undertake a detailed assessment of the Municipality of Jerusalem’s proposals to tax Church property and of the impact of those proposals on (1) the Christian presence, and (2) Christian institutions, including hospitals and schools, in Jerusalem.

We encourage the parties to do all they can to work together to uphold the status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv and our Consulate General in Jerusalem are closely following developments on both the Church Lands Bill and the Jerusalem Municipality Tax. We welcome the Israeli Government’s announcement that the draft legislation and tax collecting activities will be suspended to allow dialogue to take place, and the commitment given to maintaining freedom of religion. We expect all Church bank accounts to be unfrozen by the Municipality as part of this process.