Asked by: Lord McCabe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has a copy of the report on the Palestinian curriculum by the Georg Eckert Institute.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The Georg Eckert Institute, who were commissioned by the EU to undertake a review into Palestinian textbooks published the final report on 18 June 2021. The review is publicly accessible on their website: http://www.gei.de/en/departments/knowledge-in-transition/analysis-of-palestinian-textbooks-paltex.html
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
We continue to monitor the humanitarian situation in Gaza, exacerbated by recent escalation of violence between Hamas and Israel, including significant damage and destruction of civilian infrastructure including homes, schools, hospitals, and clinics.
We are in close contact with UN agencies and key partners on the ground to assess the situation and will monitor closely.
I announced funding of £3.2 million to UNRWA’s emergency flash appeal on 20 May. This will address the immediate humanitarian needs of vulnerable Palestinians living in Gaza.
Humanitarian access remains critical. We continue to urge Israel to ensure access into and out of Gaza, including for essential health services.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of the recent reported Israeli military offensive on healthcare (a) workers and (b) infrastructure in Gaza.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The UK welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza on 20 May, which is an important step to ending the cycle of violence and loss of civilian life. The UK priority now is ensuring timely humanitarian access into and out of Gaza, including for essential health services. We are urging the Government of Israel to ensure this access is maintained. We have made clear our concern about the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza, including significant damage and destruction of civilian infrastructure including homes, schools, hospitals, and clinics.
The United Kingdom is also providing an initial £3.2 million of UK aid to UNRWA's emergency flash appeal, which launched on 19 May 2021. This appeal will address the immediate humanitarian needs of vulnerable Palestinians living in Gaza.
Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made a recent assessment of the process of producing the content for the Palestinian Authority’s school curriculum.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
It is essential to have a strong and thriving Palestinian education system to provide opportunities for the next generation. We have been clear that incitement to hatred or violence is unacceptable and has no place in education.
Following the UK's calls for international action, our European partners agreed to lead an independent review. We understand the review is in the final stages. We will study its findings carefully before deciding on any next steps. We remain in close dialogue with our European partners and continue to press for completion and publication of the review as soon as possible.
In financial year 2020/21 we provided £20m in funding to the Palestinian Authority to support the salaries of education workers in the West Bank.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to call on the government of Israel to meet the cost of repairing (1) health centres in Gaza that have been damaged by recent air and artillery attacks, (2) the central laboraty for COVID-19 testing, and (3) schools supported by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK priority is ensuring timely humanitarian access into and out of Gaza; we are urging the Government of Israel to ensure this access is maintained. We have made clear our concern about the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza, including significant damage and destruction of civilian infrastructure including homes, schools, hospitals, and clinics. We have not made representations to the Government of Israel on the issue of reconstruction.
The United Kingdom is also providing an initial £3.2 million of UK aid to UNRWA's emergency flash appeal, which launched on 19 May 2021. This appeal will address the immediate humanitarian needs of vulnerable Palestinians living in Gaza. We understand that 47,000 displaced people are currently seeking shelter in schools run by UNRWA. We remain in close contact with UN agencies and key partners on the ground and will monitor the situation closely.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the number of schools in the Occupied Palestinian Territories at risk of demolition in the next six months.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The UK opposes Israel's proposed demolitions of Palestinian schools and calls on Israel to reconsider its plans to do so. The UK Ambassador in Tel Aviv raised ongoing demolitions with the Israeli Authorities in a meeting alongside like-minded partners on 25 February 2021. I called on Israel to stop demolitions on 5 February 2021 and raised my concerns about the demolition of Palestinian infrastructure, including the potential demolition of schools, with the Israeli Ambassador to the UK on 29 October 2020. Data shared with us by our partners in the Education Cluster of relevant NGOs operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, estimates that 45 schools are at risk in Area C and 8 in East Jerusalem. The UK is clear that in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. The practice causes unnecessary suffering to Palestinians and is harmful to the peace process.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to help prevent demolitions of schools in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The UK opposes Israel's proposed demolitions of Palestinian schools and calls on Israel to reconsider its plans to do so. The UK Ambassador in Tel Aviv raised ongoing demolitions with the Israeli Authorities in a meeting alongside like-minded partners on 25 February 2021. I called on Israel to stop demolitions on 5 February 2021 and raised my concerns about the demolition of Palestinian infrastructure, including the potential demolition of schools, with the Israeli Ambassador to the UK on 29 October 2020. Data shared with us by our partners in the Education Cluster of relevant NGOs operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, estimates that 45 schools are at risk in Area C and 8 in East Jerusalem. The UK is clear that in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. The practice causes unnecessary suffering to Palestinians and is harmful to the peace process.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the quality of the education received by Palestinian children in schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
FCDO uses a variety of tools to monitor UNRWA's performance and ensure it continues to deliver quality services including via programme monitoring and annual assessments. UNRWA has a robust review system of each host country's textbooks to ensure education in its schools reflects the values and principles of the UN. We accompany our support to UNRWA with stringent attention to implementation of their neutrality policy, including how they apply this to textbooks.
Asked by: Nicola Richards (Conservative - West Bromwich East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2020 to Question 92026 on Palestinians: Schools, whether the final EU report on the previous Palestinian Authority curriculum will be published by the end of 2020; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The independent review of the content in Palestinian textbooks, led by our European partners, is currently underway. We have regular discussions with European partners on the review, including on plans for publication. The UK has repeatedly lobbied the EU to push for publication, but this is ultimately a decision for the EU.
To ensure that the final report is representative, the study has been extended to include a sample of textbooks introduced for school year 2020-21. Consequently, the study will now be completed in early 2021.
Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2020 to Question 120022 on Palestinians: Radicalism, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies in the event that the Palestinian Authority does not (a) remove material allegedly inciting violence against Israel and Jews from the school curriculum and (b) change the names of official Palestinian Authority schools reportedly named after terrorists.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The UK is concerned about allegations of incitement in Palestinian Authority (PA) textbooks. The UK does not fund textbooks in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The PA is in the process of revising its textbooks and we understand that it has already updated Grades 1-6 and hopes to update the remaining textbooks as soon as possible.
An independent review of the content in Palestinian textbooks led by our European partners is currently underway. The final report is due in the near future and we will study its findings carefully before deciding any next steps. We have also raised our concerns about school naming at senior levels within the Palestinian Authority and will continue to do so.