Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 25 January 2021 to Question 143050 on Palestinians: Textbooks, how many mistakes in educational material published by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency UNRWA have been identified by UNRWA since 1 January 2020.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We strongly condemn all forms of violence and incitement to violence. We accompany our support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) with stringent attention to implementation of their neutrality policy, including how they apply this to textbooks and other learning material to ensure they reflect UN values. We understand that UNRWA has continued to review and address any education materials in breach of its policies. We remain confident that UNRWA has taken the issue seriously and has taken steps to improve their risk management system and quality assurance of educational materials.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to promote diplomatic normalisation between Israel and Mauritania.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The United Kingdom (UK) warmly welcomed the normalisation agreements between Israel, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Sudan. These were historic steps which saw the normalisation of relations between friends of the UK. The United Kingdom will continue to encourage further dialogue between Israel and other countries in the region, to work towards a more peaceful and prosperous future for Israelis, Palestinians and citizens across the region.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to encourage diplomatic normalisation between Israel and Oman.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The United Kingdom (UK) warmly welcomed the normalisation agreements between Israel, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Sudan. These were historic steps which saw the normalisation of relations between friends of the UK. The United Kingdom will continue to encourage further dialogue between Israel and other countries in the region, to work towards a more peaceful and prosperous future for Israelis, Palestinians and citizens across the region.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the need to fully proscribe Hamas in order to facilitate the reconstruction of Gaza.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Hamas' military wing has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK since 2001 and the UK maintains a no contact policy with Hamas in its entirety. We welcomed Israeli Foreign Minister Lapid's speech on 12 September, proposing positive policy suggestions to support economic development in Gaza and greater security for Israel. A long-term solution for Gaza is needed to prevent further conflict and make progress towards a two-state solution. The UK will continue to urge the parties to prioritise progress towards reaching a durable solution for Gaza and to take the necessary practical steps to ensure Gaza's reconstruction and economic recovery.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the most recent Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and the Palestinian Authority, what representations officials in her Department have made to representatives of the Palestinian Authority on the glorification of Fadi Al-Qunbar, Baha Alyan and Alaa Abu Jamal as martyrs on official Palestinian Authority TV news on 26 June 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Our partnership with the Palestinian Authority (PA) includes a commitment from the Palestinian leadership to adhere to the principle of non-violence and to tackle any language and actions that could incite violence or hatred. We have a regular dialogue with the PA in which we reiterate the need for both sides to prepare their populations for peaceful coexistence, including by promoting a more positive portrayal of each other.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how her Department defines the distinction between the military wing and the political wing of Hamas.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Hamas' military wing has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK since 2001 and the UK maintains a no contact policy with Hamas in its entirety.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 5 February 2018 to Question 125954 on Palestinians: Schools, whether the Government has made representations to the Palestinian Authority on concerns over the naming of a school after Salah Khalaf.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We have been clear that incitement to hatred or violence is unacceptable from all parties. We will continue to raise concerns about this with the PA and continue to urge all parties to condemn incitement wherever and whenever it occurs.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 18 October 2017 to Question 107709 on Palestinians: Overseas Aid, whether the Government made representations to the Palestinian Authority on concerns over the naming of summer camps after Dalal Mughrabi; and what assessment she has made of the effect of those representations on the decision not to rename those the summer camps.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We have been clear that incitement to hatred or violence is unacceptable from all parties. We will continue to raise concerns about this with the PA and continue to urge all parties to condemn incitement wherever and whenever it occurs.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what cross-border peacebuilding projects the UK supports in Israel and the Palestinian Territories; and how much funding the Government has allocated to each of those projects.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Cabinet Office publishes Conflict Security and Stability Fund annual programme summaries on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/conflict-stability-and-security-fund-programme-summaries. They outline the annual budget, a short summary of the programmes, and a breakdown of the projects in the programme. The peacebuilding projects Constituencies for Peace and Support for Israeli NGOs continue to be funded in Financial Year 2021/2022 though exact spend figures are not yet available. Our future spending allocations will be set in the next Spending Review and full budgets for 2021 will be published in due course, including in our regular Statistics on International Development website and in the FCDO Annual Report and Accounts. CSSF spend by regional, cross regional and non-discretionary theme is reported in the CSSF Annual Report. The CSSF Annual Report 2020-21 will be published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to promote diplomatic normalisation between Israel and Iraq.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK warmly welcomed the normalisation agreements between Israel, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Sudan. These are historic steps which see the normalisation of relations between friends of the UK. The United Kingdom will continue to encourage further dialogue between Israel and other countries in the region, to work towards a more peaceful and prosperous future for Israelis, Palestinians and citizens across the region.