Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the government of Israel about potential breaches of international law by that country.

Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv discussed Israel’s cooperation with the UN Commission of Inquiry and meeting international standards of accountability as a whole with the Director of International Law at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 30 September. Officials have also lobbied Israeli Cabinet Ministers, the National Security Council and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Members of the Knesset and Knesset officials, for Israel to address the international community’s concerns over the deaths of over 2000 Gazans.

We are pressing Israel to demonstrate accountability for its actions during the recent Gaza conflict. The Israel Defence Forces have launched a number of internal processes to investigate specific cases of engagement, and the Israeli State Comptroller has launched an investigation into the Government’s conduct. We will watch these closely. But there will also be international procedures which must examine the actions of both Hamas and Israel. Both sides should cooperate with the Commission of Inquiry set up by the UN Human Rights Council, which must itself be independent and balanced in its approach.