Tag: Baroness Tonge

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-10-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about the recent attacks in Silwan and the fatal shooting of Ali Alef Shyoukhi.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

While we have not made any representations to the Israeli authorities on this issue, we have an ongoing dialogue with the Israeli authorities about the Israel Defence Forces’ use of live fire. We remain concerned by the use of force by Israeli security personnel in response to protests and security incidents. We regularly raise these concerns with the Israeli Government, stressing the need for proportionality and proper accountability.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel concerning the destruction by Israeli forces of a water network in the northern Jordan Valley.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

While we have not raised this specific issue, the UK does raise the issue of water in the Occupied Palestinian Territories with the Israeli authorities, including stressing the urgent need for Israel to take immediate and practical measures to improve this unacceptable situation and ensure fair distribution of water in the West Bank and Gaza. An official from our Embassy in Tel Aviv most recently raised the issue of water with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 26 October.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel following reports that the Israeli army is preventing a Palestinian woman from travelling to her own wedding ceremony in Jordan.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have not made any representations to the Israeli authorities over this specific issue. We do, however, remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our Ambassador in Tel Aviv raised this issue with Israeli National Security Advisor Cohen on 2 November. Our Consul-General to Jerusalem also raised this issue with the Mayor of Jerusalem on 28 October.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-12-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 7 December (HL3871), what assessment they have made of the contribution of economic security to achieving peace between Israel and Palestine, and based on that assessment whether they will now raise this issue with the government of Israel.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We assess that economic security is vital and that Palestinians see tangible improvements in their daily lives. That is why we are a leading donor to the Palestinian Authority and why the Department for International Development have put such emphasis on strengthening Palestinian institutions and fostering private sector-led, sustainable economic growth in the West Bank. We do not plan to make representations on the specific issue of the stone factories. However, we regularly raise the need to enable development of the Palestinian economy. On 19 November our Ambassador in Tel Aviv discussed the need to create economic sustainability in the West Bank and Gaza with the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs, Public Security and Information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level of improvement in the conditions of children in prisons in Israel since the publication in 2012 of the report by British lawyers Children in Military Custody.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) progress report of October 2013 noted that Israel has taken some positive steps towards addressing the recommendations in the 2012 report by updating the existing Standard Operating Procedures and policies in relation to the arrest of minors. These updates included changing the policy on methods of restraint and the use of blindfolds. Israel also increased the age of majority for Palestinian children. The Israeli military committed to conducting a pilot of using written summons instead of night-time arrests.

We welcome the steps taken to date, but we continue to call for further measures, including the mandatory use of audio-visual recording of interrogations, investigation into continued reports of single-hand ties being used, and an end to solitary confinement for children.

We are also funding a follow up mission by the British lawyers who conducted the report in February.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the rejection by the Knesset of the amendment proposed by MK Jamal Zahalka to include a clause on equality in Israel’s Basic Law.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have not raised this specific issue with the Israeli authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the use of tear gas at Qitoun checkpoint against Palestinian children on their way to school.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

While we have not made any representations to the Israeli authorities on this specific issue, we consistently urge Israeli contacts against the use of excessive force.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel about why the Israel Defence Forces have been positioned behind the Green Line and on 1 March fired on Beit Hanun farmland and farmers working in fields east of Juhor al-Dik.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have not had any discussions with the Israeli authorities on this issue. However, we have an ongoing dialogue with the Israeli authorities about the Israeli Defence Forces use of live fire.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-04-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the fact that donations to the Jewish National Fund are tax deductible, and that one of its primary activities has been the creation of forests over disputed Palestinian land, what action they are taking to rescind the charitable status of organisations that are for the benefit of one group at the expense of another.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Jewish National Fund is not a charity. The Jewish National Fund Charitable Trust is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales having exclusively charitable purposes. Under s34 of the Charities Act 2011, the Commission must remove a charity from the register if it no longer considers the organisation to be a charity or if it has ceased to exist or does not operate. None of these criteria apply to this charity. Any concern regarding the charitable status of an organisation is a matter for the Commission.

Taxation is a matter for HM Revenue and Customs who do not comment on individual cases.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they intend to take to enable UNRWA to deliver urgent aid to Palestinian refugees trapped in Yarmouk camp in Damascus.

Baroness Verma

The UK is extremely concerned about the situation in Yarmouk camp in Syria, especially given intense fighting between Daesh and Al-Nusra Front in recent weeks. According to UNRWA, the intensified fighting has acutely aggravated shortages of food and clean water for the approximately 6000 civilians residing inside Yarmouk. We condemn in the strongest terms the grave crimes committed by Daesh and Al-Nusra Front against civilians in the camp, and continue to call on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians, ensure humanitarian access to the area, and allow the safe passage and evacuation of civilians.

We welcome UNRWA’s efforts in protecting and assisting vulnerable Palestinian refugees. To date, the UK has allocated over £59 million to UNRWA to provide assistance for Palestinian refugees affected by the violence in Syria and the region.

The UK has given support to the UN and international NGOs since the start of the conflict to deliver aid to besieged and hard to reach areas and continue to use our position in the UN Security Council to push for humanitarian access to be granted to these areas. We are also part pf the International Syria Support Group that agreed at its meeting on 11 February that humanitarian access would be opened to a number of priority areas, including Yarmouk, as a first step to accelerating full and sustained access across Syria. Since then, UNRWA has delivered 21 convoys with multi-sectoral assistance to 19,000 people in Yalda, Babella, Beit-Sahm, including thousands of residents in and from Yarmouk.