Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Israeli government on allegations that that government is withholding services for Bedouins who reside in the West Bank and in Israel.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

While we have not raised this specific issue with the Israeli authorities, we continue to raise our concerns with the Israeli authorities over demolitions and the treatment of the Bedouin community. We have supported Bedouin communities in Area C facing demolition or eviction through support to Rabbis for Human Rights and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) legal aid programme. In regards to situation and demolitions of Bedouin villages in green-line Israel such as Umm al-Hiran, a solution must respect the equality of all Israel’s citizens.