Asked by: Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Israeli Major General Oded Basyuk and his delegation were granted special mission diplomatic immunity for the visit.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Government officials from any country can apply for and be granted special mission certificates as part of official visits to the UK. As set out in a Written Ministerial Statement by the former Foreign Secretary dated 4 March 2013, a special mission is a temporary mission, representing a State, which is sent by one State to another with the consent of the latter, in order to carry out official engagements on behalf of the sending State. The FCDO gave consent for special mission status for the visit to the UK on 21-22 January of Major General Oded Bassiuk, Head of the Operations Directorate J3 of the Israel Defense Forces, and delegation, to attend meetings with the Ministry of Defence as part of the concerted UK effort to reduce the risk of escalation in the Middle East and to achieve a peaceful resolution in Gaza and Lebanon.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy in Gaza on 1 April 2024 was (a) reviewed as and (b) found to be a potential violation of International Humanitarian Law by his Department.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including three British nationals, in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on 1 April was appalling. We continue to press the Government of Israel to improve the safety environment for aid workers in Gaza, which is the deadliest in the world. Over 320 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began on October 7. I most recently raised this with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharron Haskel on Friday 29 November. We continue to keep Israel's compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in Gaza under review through regular assessments.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Herzi Halevi was given special mission diplomatic immunity to visit the UK in November 2024.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Government officials from any country can apply for and be granted special mission certificates as part of official visits to the UK. As set out in a Written Ministerial Statement by the former Foreign Secretary dated 4 March 2013, a special mission is a temporary mission, representing a State, which is sent by one State to another with the consent of the latter, in order to carry out official engagements on behalf of the sending State. The FCDO gave consent for special mission status for the visit to the UK on 24-25 November of Lieutenant General Herzl Halevi, Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, and delegation.