David Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Jones on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Israeli authorities on the attempted murder of the Palestinian activist, Mustafa Barghouti.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Palestinian, rather than Israeli, security forces are responsible for security in Ramallah, and have opened an investigation into the attack. Our Consul-General to Jersualem spoke to Dr Barghouti following the attack to relay our concern. As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), said in a press statement on 9 October, "We condemn all acts of violence, including attacks by Palestinian and by Israeli settlers. We urge all sides to take immediate steps to de-escalate the tensions and avoid actions that threaten to exacerbate the situation."