Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to propose a joint UK–EU initiative to protect the Ibrahimi Mosque, following reports that the government of Israel is planning renovations and improvements to the building, without prior consultation or agreement and which could involve some expropriation of Palestinian land.

The holy sites of East Jerusalem and the West Bank hold particular significance for many groups around the globe, especially the three Abrahamic faiths of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. In our meetings with the Israeli authorities we regularly raise the need to respect the status quo of the holy sites in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. We continue to urge the Israeli and Palestinian leadership to avoid actions that make it more difficult to achieve a negotiated solution to the conflict.