The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-03-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have made to recent UN figures that, between 1 January and 2 March, Israel has demolished 121 structures in the occupied West Bank funded partly or fully by international donors compared to 108 such demolitions during 2015; and whether they have raised that issue with the government of Israel.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government is extremely concerned by reports that there has been a large increase in demolitions since the start of 2016, compared to the monthly average in 2015. We are also concerned at the increase in the demolition of structures funded partly or fully by international donors. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv has raised our concerns on demolitions with the Israeli authorities.