Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 15 March (HL6555), what assessment they have made of the findings by the Defence for Children in Palestine report on 31 March, which found that (1) five Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli forces this year, and (2) that 2021 was the deadliest year for Palestinian children since 2014 with 78 children killed by Israeli forces and armed Israeli civilians.

We regularly raise the issue of the high numbers of Palestinians killed and injured by Israeli Defense Forces in the West Bank and Gaza with the Israeli authorities, encouraging them to carry out swift, transparent and thorough investigations. We continue to stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population, particularly the need to protect children, and urge restraint in the use of live fire.