FRIDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2015
1. Alex Cunningham: What reports has Foreign Secretary received on the likely timetable for lifting the blockade of Gaza, and what steps is he taking with his counterparts in the EU and elsewhere to bring this about?
- Alex Cunningham: What discussions has Foreign Secretary had with counterparts in the EU and elsewhere on the obligations Israel has under UN Security Council Resolution 1860 and the Agreement on Movement and Access within it to open the Gaza crossings?
- Alex Cunningham: What steps does Foreign Secretary plan to take to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1860, and will he make a statement?
- Alex Cunningham: Will Foreign Secretary estimate the number of Palestinian rockets fired into Israel from Gaza since August 2014, how many Israelis have been killed as a result of such attacks, and what steps is his Department taking to prevent such incidents?
- Alex Cunningham: What discussions has Foreign Secretary had with counterparts in the EU and elsewhere on the number of incidents of the Israeli military shooting at fishing boats off Gaza and the number of fishermen so killed since August 2014?
- Alex Cunningham: How many times have the Israeli military opened fire into Gaza since August 2014, and what steps is the FCO taking to prevent future such incidents?
- Alex Cunningham: Will Foreign Secretary estimate the number of Palestinian civilians killed by the Israeli military shooting into Gaza since August 2014; and what steps is his Department taking to prevent such fatalities?
- Alex Cunningham: What representations has Foreign Secretary received from (a) Israel, (b) Egypt, (c) the Palestinian Authority and (d) Hamas on the rebuilding of homes destroyed in Gaza during the conflict of January 2014?
- Roger Godsiff: What steps is the Government taking to ensure that the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism allows the import of sufficient building materials?
- Alex Cunningham: Will DfID Secretary estimate the likely timetable for rebuilding infrastructure in Gaza following the July 2014 conflict?
Commons Written Answers
THURSDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2015
1. Business of the House:
– Richard Burden: Will the Leader of the House ask the Prime Minister to come to the House next week to report back on his meetings this week with Prime Minister Netanyahu? When the Prime Minister does so, will he specifically address the questions he has asked Prime Minister Netanyahu and the responses he has received from him pursuant to recommendations 2 and 5 of the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution in June on the Gaza conflict? Both recommendations call for accountability for those responsible for human rights violations and for co-operation with the investigations of the International Criminal Court.
– Chris Grayling: The Prime Minister will be here next week, as he is each week, for Prime Minister’s questions and Opposition Members will be able to raise that issue with him. All of us wish to see peace in the middle east and between Israel and Palestine. It is my view that the best strategy for this Government now and in the future is to be collaborative and constructive in discussions with both sides in order to play the best possible role in securing a peaceful future.
Commons Oral Questions
- David T.C. Davies had asked about enforced deportations during the last three years. James Brokenshire’s reply revealed that in 2012, 2013 and 2014 the numbers forcibly deported to Israel were, respectively: 12, 6, and 5 persons; to the OPTs only one person was forcibly removed; that was in 2013.
Commons Written Answers
- UN: Senior Appointments:
– Lord Anderson: (edited extract) Often there have been silly policies, particularly during the communist era, and absurdities such as the so-called Commission on Human Rights with more than 60% of its resolutions criticising Israel and having members with appalling human rights records….. Critics can point out that one of the first challenges to the new organisation came when the UK gave up its mandate over Palestine. The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 of November 1947 chose to divide Palestine into two states—one Jewish and one Arab. On 21 April 2015, when the Secretary-General addressed the Security Council, he spoke of, “decades of missed opportunities and failures”, with the prospect of a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict based on two states even further away, “with potentially explosive consequences”. Yet all reasonable people know the broad lines of what should be a solution to that problem. Surely we do not have to conclude that some problems in the world are insoluble.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201516/ldhansrd/text/150910-0003.htm
Lords Debates
WEDNESDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 2015
1. Humanitarian Crisis in the Mediterranean and Europe – extracts from debate:
– Stuart C. McDonald: I also wish to raise the issue of “double refugees.” I understand from people working in refugee camps in Lebanon that a significant number of refugees there have previously fled from Palestine and had been protected as refugees in Syrian camps. They have had to flee again and, despite not being documented as Syrians, that is the country from which they have been forced to flee. Is there not a powerful case for including them in the resettlement scheme?
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmhansrd/cm150909/debtext/150909-0002.htm
– Mark Durkan: ….when we consider just how long term many refugee camps have become for other conflicts—look at the Palestinian experience—we see that clearly more needs to be done [for children’s protection and education].
– Alison Thewliss: I noticed this morning that UNICEF had published some photographs taken by children who were living in the refugee camps of Lebanon and Palestine in 2013 and 2014.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmhansrd/cm150909/debtext/150909-0003.htm
Commons Debates
TUESDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2015
1. Sir Gerald Kaufman: This is a grim world. Dreadful events are taking place in many countries. Innocent human beings are dying and armies and guerrillas are fighting each other throughout the world, particularly in south Asia and the middle east. Only today, we read of a 27-year-old Palestinian woman murdered by Israeli extremists, leaving her four-year-old child an orphan, yet we—not me, but the Government—will welcome to this country Binyamin Netanyahu, the author of the oppression of the Palestinians and the man who will go on trying to wreck the nuclear agreement with Iran, which is one of the few bright spots in international relations. (extract)
Commons Debates
- Jeremy Corbyn: What licences have been issued to (a) Instro Precision, (b) Ferranti Technologies and (c) Elite KL for exports for the use of the Israeli Defence Force or other elements of Israel’s security forces on what dates since 1 January 2010; and what was the date of each such licence?
- Jeremy Corbyn: Pursuant to the Answer of February 2015 to Question 222681, what licences have been issued since 1 January 2010 to UAV Engines Ltd for equipment other than UAV engines or components for exports for the use of the Israeli Defence Force or other elements of Israel’s security forces; and on what date was each such licence issued?
Nos 2-3 Commons Written Answers
MONDAY 7 SEPTEMBER 2015
- Richard Burden: What discussions has Foreign Secretary had with his Israeli counterpart on the demolition of the village of Susiya in the West Bank? http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-07-20/8009
- Richard Burden: What reports has Foreign Secretary received from (a) the Israeli government, (b) the Palestinian government and (c) non-governmental bodies on the demolition of Susiya?
- Richard Burden: What assessment has Foreign Secretary made of the prospects of implementing a two state solution in Israel and Palestine arising from the demolition of the Palestinian village of Susiya?
- Richard Burden: What assessment has Foreign Secretary made of the implications for (a) his policies and (b) Israel’s compliance with the Fourth Geneva Convention of the demolition of the Palestinian village of Susiya?
- Michelle Donelan: How much of the £32 million of aid pledged by the UK at the Cairo Donor Conference in 2014 to cover disposal of unexploded ordnance, rubble clearing and reconstructive surgery has been disbursed to date; and how much more such aid is planned to be sent in future?
Nos 1-5 Commons Written Answers
- Baroness Tonge: Following the recent report by Medical Aid to Palestinians, what representations have HMG made to the government of Israel concerning the death of Anas Qdieh?
- Baroness Tonge: What discussions have HMG had with the government of Israel concerning the orders and directives given by Colonel Ofer Winter during Operation Protective Edge?
- Baroness Tonge: Further to the Written Answer by Lord Maude of Horsham (HL1418) regarding the sale of arms to Israel, how do HMG define “internal repression” and “using the items aggressively against another country”?
- Baroness Tonge: What steps do HMG plan to take to support the five-year ceasefire currently under discussion between Israel and Hamas?
- Baroness Tonge: What discussions have HMG had with the government of Israel concerning their decision to start building the separation wall in the Cremisan Valley in Beit Jala?
- Baroness Tonge: What assessment have HMG made of the cost to the public purse in the last five years of the conflict in the West Bank, both directly and via the EU?
- Baroness Tonge: What assessment have HMG made of the possible consequences for Israel and the Israeli settlers if the Israeli Civil Administration demolish the village of Susiya; and what information do they have on any plans to rehouse the residents?
Nos 6-12 Lords Written Answers
- David Cameron (answering Jermy Corbyn’s question about Syria): We ought to remember that Iran is still a supporter of terrorist organisations like Hamas and Hezbollah, which I know he describes as friends but which I see very much as enemies. We also need to make sure that Iran is playing a positive role in Syria, rather than the role it plays now of propping up the hated Assad regime. (extract)
Commons Debates
END