Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on the demolitions in Khan Al Ahmar.

The UK is gravely concerned by Israeli proposals to relocate the Bedouin population from the E1 area, which the United Nations have said could constitute forcible transfer. These plans could have a devastating impact on the communities concerned and will likely open the way for further settlement expansion – endangering the viability of the two-state solution.

We have been clear about our concerns with the Israeli authorities and we regularly raise this thorough our Embassy in Tel Aviv. On 3 November, I met Abu Khamis, leader of the Khan al Ahmar Bedouin community, and an official from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, to discuss the situation of the Bedouin living in the E1 Zone of the West Bank.