Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he met General Oded Basyuk of the Israel Defense Forces in January 2025.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
No.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many meetings his Department has had with Israel Defense Forces personnel since 5 July 2024; who participated in those meetings; and when those meetings took place.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Israel is an important regional partner for the UK and we have a broad relationship including on Defence. The Ministry of Defence routinely conducts bilateral Defence engagement with the Israel Defense Forces, the Palestinian Authority, and the US, as part of the concerted UK effort to reduce the risk of escalation in the Middle East.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when a General of the Israel Defense Forces last visited his Department.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The last visit to the Ministry of Defence by a General of the Israel Defense Forces took place on Wednesday 22 January 2024, by Major General Oded Basyuk.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he last met a General of the Israel Defense Forces.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Secretary of State for Defence last met with a General of the Israel Defense Forces on Friday 2 August 2024, during a visit to hold an introductory meeting with the Israeli Defence Minister, and discuss efforts to reduce the risk of escalation in the Middle East.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has plans to repeal the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Victims) Act 2021.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
We have no plans to repeal the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Act 2021.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to respond to the recommendations of the report entitled Strengthening UK Military Investigations into Civilian Harm, published by the Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights on 26 November 2024.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I thank the hon. Member for raising this report with the Department.
Where the UK undertakes military action, it is conducted in full accordance with UK and international law.
Military action is meticulously planned in accordance with the recognised IHL principles of proportionality, military necessity, distinction and humanity, as well as in line with relevant policies such as the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict; Joint Service Publication 985 – Human Security in Defence. Great care is taken to minimise the risk of harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure, and this sits at the core of our approach.
Working level discussions are ongoing between Ministry of Defence officials, our allies, and civil society organisations to share and promote best practice on civilian harm mitigation.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with the Dutch Ministry of Defence on civilian harm mitigation and response.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Working level discussions have taken place between officials from the Ministry of Defence and Dutch Ministry of Defence on civilian harm mitigation and response. This has also included officials from the US Department of Defence as well as officials from Defence Ministries of other allies. The aim of these discussions is to advance engagement between allies on sharing and promoting best practice on civilian harm mitigation within respective Armed Forces.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to implement a mechanism to ensure that intelligence information shared with the Israeli government is used within the boundaries of international humanitarian law, and what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on ensuring that any information provided is used in compliance with international humanitarian law.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) mandate is narrowly defined to focus on securing the release of the hostages only, including British nationals. Only information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant authorities. The MOD has robust policies, practices and processes which are entirely consistent with our legal obligations under domestic and international law.
The Secretary of State for Defencec, and MOD officials, have regular discussions with their Israeli counterparts on the remaining hostages and other matters, including complying with International Humanitarian Law and the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on ensuring that any information gathered by unarmed RAF surveillance flights over Gaza can be used solely in relation to locating Israeli hostages.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) mandate is narrowly defined to focus on securing the release of the hostages only, including British nationals. Only information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant authorities. The MOD has robust policies, practices and processes which are entirely consistent with our legal obligations under domestic and international law.
The Secretary of State for Defencec, and MOD officials, have regular discussions with their Israeli counterparts on the remaining hostages and other matters, including complying with International Humanitarian Law and the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has established a process for the (a) assessment and (b) retention of evidence gathered by unarmed RAF surveillance flights over Gaza.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Our mandate is narrowly defined to focus on securing the release of the hostages only. We are unable comment further on detailed intelligence matters for operational security reasons.