Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Israeli counterpart on the demolition of Palestinian buildings in the Sur Baher neighbourhood in East Jerusalem; and if he will make a statement.

On 23 July, the UK alongside France, Germany and Spain, issued a statement condemning the demolition by Israel of Palestinian buildings in the district of Wadi al Hummus. On the same day, our Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) reiterated our concern at the UN Security Council Open Debate on the Middle East. In this specific case, the demolitions were particularly egregious as a number of the buildings were located in Areas A and B, under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority according to the Oslo Agreements. They set a dangerous precedent that directly jeopardises the two-state solution, which is why I raised our deep concern to the Israeli Ambassador to the UK on 24 July.