Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs written question – answered at on 6 November 2006.
Nick Harvey
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received on Israel's compliance with International Humanitarian Law during the recent conflict in Lebanon.
Kim Howells
Minister of State (Middle East), Foreign & Commonwealth Office
The UK has received a number of reports on Israel's compliance with International Humanitarian Law during the recent conflict in Lebanon. These include reports from human rights non-governmental organisations such as Amnesty International, and the visit report of the four UN special procedure mandate holders, which accuse both Israel and Hezbollah of serious violations of international humanitarian law.
The UK has not conducted an investigation into Israel's conduct in Lebanon between
Yes2 people think so
No3 people think not
Would you like to ask a question like this yourself? Use our Freedom of Information site.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Annotations
Marc Levine
Posted on 8 Nov 2006 11:26 pm (Report this annotation)
Why should Israel excercise restraint? The Arabs have one goal: Destruction of Israel. Israel has one goal: Survival. If anyone should be presured to exercise restraint it is HAMAS and HEZBOLLAH and their sponsors - Iran & Syria.
The Arab states declared war on the Jewish people and Israel before Israel was established as a sovereign state. They have never exercised restraint.
As for Britain, Britain has never exercised restraint when threatened and nor should she.
Mark Bestford
Posted on 9 Nov 2006 12:01 am (Report this annotation)
I must disagree. The very reason Hamas exists and has such strong support in Palestine is the way Israel treats Palestine. Stop bombing civilians and Hamas loses support.
As for Britain, take a lesson from history. The IRA were bombing Britain for 30 years. Why did they stop? They stopped because Britain realised that the only way to stop terrorism is by talking.
The solution to the Palestine/Israeli conflict is simple. Palestine and Israel must talk. They must also stop the blatant land grabbing that has been going on with the illegal wall they've put up. They must abide by the UN resolutions that demanded that Palestinian land be returned to the Palestinians. Only when Israel recognises Palestine's rights can Palestine recognise Israel's. Respect must be mutually earned. If Israel can make peace with Palestine then the rest of the Middle East must follow, it is Israel's treatment of the Palestinians that fuels their hatred.
Add to that, since when was it right for a soldier to execute a small girl? That is happening all the time, yet I hear you saying you want them to do more. Read the news. The latest Israeli attacks on Palestine left 18 dead. 13 in one family. 6 of them children. And you ask why the Palestinians hate Israel so much that they support Hamas?
kay manasseh
Posted on 9 Nov 2006 8:53 am (Report this annotation)
It's a ridiculous notion to suggest that Arabs have one goal and that is to wipe out Israel. Arabs are people like everyone else who just want to live in peace, have a job and raise a family as do most Israelis. Land grabbing is not to do with survival it's to do with expansion and pushing out the Palestinian population. Does anyone seriously think that Israel will be wiped out by a few home made rockets? It is more likely that Israel will be the master of it's own downfall as it moves further to the right and invites openly racists such as Lieberman to join the government.