Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in other EU countries and the EU Commission on the demolition of EU-funded structures by Israeli authorities in Jabal al Baba on 16 May 2016; and what steps he plans to take (a) independently and (b) with those counterparts to ensure that any further such planned demolitions are halted.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK and the EU continue to raise concerns about demolitions with the Government of Israel. These demolitions cause significant human suffering, undermine chances of progress towards a two-state solution, and are contrary to international humanitarian law in all but the most exceptional cases. Within the EU, we are considering how to respond to demolitions, including the demolition and confiscation of EU-funded structures.