Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of Palestinian schools which have been demolished in the West Bank in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Whilst we are unable to provide these exact figures, the UK is seriously concerned by the continued demolition of Palestinian property, including schools, by Israeli authorities. In all but the most exceptional of circumstances demolitions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. The right to education is a basic right, and it is essential to have a strong and thriving Palestinian education system in order to provide opportunities for the next generation. The UK is a long-term supporter of UNRWA and we recognise UNRWA's unique mandate from the UN General Assembly, to protect and provide protection and core services to Palestinian refugees across the Middle East. This is why the UK is committed to providing support to education workers in the West Bank, and UNRWA education in the West Bank and Gaza.
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 24 September (HL8095), what support they plan to give to the Palestinian Authority to enable the continued provision of education for Palestinian children whose school buildings have been demolished by the Israel Defence Force in Area C of the West Bank.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In all but the most exceptional of circumstances demolitions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. The practice of demolitions (and confiscations) causes unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians and is harmful to the peace process. The UK does not undertake a specific assessment of the impact of demolitions on the education of Palestinian children, but the UK does support education in the OPTs.
UK Aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) helps to ensure it can deliver essential services, including the provision of education by contributing to the salaries of carefully vetted teachers and education workers in the West Bank.
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the arrangements put in place for the education of Palestinian children whose schools have been demolished by the government of Israel in the last five years.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In all but the most exceptional of circumstances demolitions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. The practice of demolitions (and confiscations) causes unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians and is harmful to the peace process. The UK does not undertake a specific assessment of the impact of demolitions on the education of Palestinian children, but the UK does support education in the OPTs.
UK Aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) helps to ensure it can deliver essential services, including the provision of education by contributing to the salaries of carefully vetted teachers and education workers in the West Bank.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether (a) UK direct or (b) multilateral aid to the Palestinian Authority provides any financial or in-kind support to schools named after terrorists.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
UK bilateral support to the Palestinian Authority contributes to the salaries of teachers in the West Bank who have been carefully vetted through the Palestinian-European Socio-Economic Management Assistance (PEGASE) mechanism. We do not monitor where individual teachers are deployed, which is a matter for the Palestinian Authority.
Our multilateral support is channelled through Education Cannot Wait and the British Council, who have strong risk management systems in place to ensure that UK aid best supports the provision of quality education in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We have raised our concerns about school naming at senior levels within the Palestinian Authority and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the Answer of 8 July 2019 to Question 272116 on Palestinians: schools, whether the initial international review covering the first 70 textbooks will be published in Spring 2020; and when that review will be placed in the Library.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK government is deeply concerned about allegations of incitement in Palestinian Authority’s school textbooks.
Following UK calls for action, we secured agreement from European partners to commission the Georg Eckert Institute to conduct an independent review, which is currently underway. We expect an interim report by June, with a full report later in the year.
We have regular discussions with our European Partners on the Review and we continue to encourage the EU to publish the report. The issue was most recently raised on 18 February by the UK Consul General Jerusalem with the EU Representative in Jerusalem.
Asked by: Mary Robinson (Conservative - Cheadle)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with the Palestinian Authority on the Authority's internal review of the content of its national curriculum after reports of antisemitic and extremist content.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK government is deeply concerned about the allegations of incitement in the Palestinian Authority’s school textbooks.
The International Development Secretary reiterated our concerns in a call to the Palestinian Authority’s Education Minister just last month, where they also discussed the Palestinian Authority’s own textbook review.
Asked by: Chris Clarkson (Conservative - Heywood and Middleton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent representations she has made to the Palestinian Authority on reports that 31 schools are named after Palestinian terrorists.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We have raised our concerns about school naming at senior levels within the Palestinian Authority (PA) and will continue to do so. Our partnership with the PA includes a commitment from the Palestinian leadership to adhere to the principle of non-violence and to tackle language and actions that could incite violence or hatred. We continue to assess that the PA’s commitment to peace is in line with our Partnership Principles.
UK support to the PA contributes to the salaries of carefully vetted teachers and education workers in the West Bank through the Palestinian-European Socio-Economic Management Assistance mechanism, which screens recipients against international sanctions lists.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent representations she has made to the Palestinian Authority on reports that three schools are named after Nazi collaborators.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We have raised our concerns about school naming at senior levels within the Palestinian Authority (PA) and will continue to do so. Our partnership with the PA includes a commitment from the Palestinian leadership to adhere to the principle of non-violence and to tackle language and actions that could incite violence or hatred. We continue to assess that the PA’s commitment to peace is in line with our Partnership Principles.
UK support to the PA contributes to the salaries of carefully vetted teachers and education workers in the West Bank through the Palestinian-European Socio-Economic Management Assistance mechanism, which screens recipients against international sanctions lists.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions he has had with the Palestinian Authority on the removal and replacement of textbooks from schools in the Palestinian Territories as a result of reports of anti-Semitic and extremist content in those books.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK government is deeply concerned about allegations of incitement in Palestinian Authority’s school textbooks. Ministers have regularly raised the issue of incitement in the education sector with the PA’s Minister for Education,?which the Secretary of State did most recently in February this year.?We are pleased that the PA are undertaking a review of their textbooks and updating them in time for the new academic year in September.
Asked by: Robert Largan (Conservative - High Peak)
Question to the Department for International Development:
What progress has been made on the international review into the books included in the Palestinian Authority’s school curriculum.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Following the UK’s calls for international action, an EU sponsored independent review of Palestinian textbooks is currently underway. We understand that an interim report will be completed in Spring 2020 with the full report due later this year. The Development Secretary made it clear that incitement in education is unacceptable when she spoke with the PA Education Minister last week and she held him to account on progress to remove hateful content.