Israel and Palestine

House of Lords written question – answered at on 8 January 2013.

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Photo of Baroness Tonge Baroness Tonge Independent Liberal Democrat

To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent representations they have made to the Government of Israel concerning Palestinian farmers in Jayyous and elsewhere who are unable to access their land because of the security barrier.

Photo of Baroness Warsi Baroness Warsi Senior Minister of State (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) (Jointly with the Department for Communities and Local Government), Senior Minister of State (Department for Communities and Local Government) (Faith and Communities) (also in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office)

Through our embassy in Tel Aviv, we have lobbied the appropriate authorities on the issue of movement and access. We continue to work closely with the quartet and EU partners, and to call on Israel to ease restrictions on access.

The UK position on the separation barrier is clear: if Israel wished to build the barrier, it should have been built on the 1967 border-and where it is constructed on the Palestinian side of that border, it is illegal under international law.

According to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs there are now 522 obstacles which restrict Palestinian access, compared to 503 at the end of 2010. This is a clear increase and it is clear that more needs to be done, particularly in the Jordan Valley and Palestinian land on the Israeli side of the separation barrier.

We will continue to argue for a just outcome for all the people affected by illegal settlement construction and the confiscation of land due to the separation barrier. This includes funding from the Department for International Development for the Norwegian Refugee Council to provide legal support to communities affected by the occupation.

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