Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the government of Israel concerning recent anti-Christian vandalism at the Dormition Abbey.

While we have not had any discussions with the Israeli authorities over this specific incident, we understand that the Israeli police have arrested two Israeli teenagers for the attack. This attack was widely condemned by Palestinian and Israeli leaders. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv is in regular contact with representatives of Churches on a range of issues, including to discuss concern about attacks on places of worship.