Author: director@t2ptravel.com

Minister to look at Govt website ‘invest in illegal settlements’ advice

English: Ann McKechin MP
Wednesday October 30 2013

 

Government website ‘advertises grants to invest in Jordan Valley settlements’
Minister visits Israel next week
New Middle East Minister Hugh Robertson agreed to a request to look urgently at the Government’s UK Trade & Investment website which encourages firms to invest in illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine’s Jordan Valley.  Labour MP Ann McKechin revealed in the Commons that the government’s own website gives details of grants available for UK firms to invest in settlements which are against international law and often built on stolen Palestinian land.  

Speaking at Foreign Office questions this week (Tuesday October 29th) the minister repeated the Government’s oft-stated policy that Israeli settlements in Palestine are “illegal and an obstacle to peace” and promised to update the Foreign Office on-line guidance to business “in the coming weeks”.  

The updating of the government’s Overseas Business Risk Register was promised in August and then by the end of September but nothing had emerged when Alistair Burt was replaced as Middle East minister by Hugh Robertson in early October. Despite the constant refrain from the UK and the EU that the settlements are “illegal and an obstacle to peace”, the EU keeps them in business with trade worth nearly £200 million a year.  

The issue is urgent because the peace talks have got nowhere in three months and are due to end in May.  The only chance of success is if European countries put economic pressure on Israel – and the withdrawal of settlement trade would be the best way of doing it. 

Earlier, facing his first question as Middle East minister, Hugh Robertson was asked by Labour MP Alex Cunningham what action he had taken on the Foreign Office report which exposed how the authorities in Israel arrest Palestinian children in the middle of the night, interrogate them without parents or lawyers present, bully them into signing confessions in a language they do not understand and jail children as young as 12. 

The minister revealed that within a week of his appointment he had instructed the British ambassador in Tel Aviv to write to the Israeli Justice Minister urging further action on child prisoners and he would take the issue up with ministers on his first official visit to Israel in the week started Monday November 4th. 

The minister was pressed by Labour MP Andy Slaughter to say what he would do about the fact that at least a quarter of Palestinian child prisoners are put in prisons inside Israel which is in breach of international law and may deprive them of parental visits. 

In response the Minister said of the Foreign Office report Children in Military Custody and its 40 recommendations: “I entirely support it and during my time as a minister, I will do everything I can to ensure that its recommendations are properly and correctly implemented.”

http://www.childreninmilitarycustody.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Children_in_Military_Custody_Full_Report.pdf

http://www.dci-palestine.org/documents/detention-bulletin-issue-43-july-2013

 

Gaza goes from bad to worse – Minister

Aid minister Alan Duncan acknowledged the deepening fuel and medicine crisis in Gaza at International Develop questions (Wednesday October 23rd) with the Gaza power plant operating at half capacity and electricity blackouts of up to 12 hours a day.

He told Labour’s Paul Blomfield that “the level of fuel and medical supplies has dropped, exacerbating an already precarious humanitarian situation and threatening the basic needs of ordinary people in Gaza.”

And he agreed with Labour’s Ann McKechin that fuel prices in Gaza have doubled as the amount of Egyptian fuel entering Gaza through the tunnels has been halved since June.

Paul Blomfield asked him to acknowledge that the blockade of Gaza was a violation of international humanitarian and human rights law and constituted collective punishment.

The minister replied: “I recognise exactly what the Member says.”

Conservative MP Sir Tony Baldry described the situation in Gaza and the West Bank as “a perpetual hell for thousands of people” and urged the international community to find a find a long-term solution.

The UN reported that the number of lorryloads of humanitarian goods entering the Gaza strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing in the first week of October (1-7) was only 1,711, more than a thousand below the weekly average before the blockade of 2,807.   

“The limited scope of tunnel activity continued to be reflected in shortages of goods, including fuel and construction materials.

“This week, between 400,000 and 500,000 litres of fuel (mostly diesel) reportedly entered Gaza via tunnels every day, including for the Gaza Power Plant (GPP) and other public facilities and services; this compares to approximately one million litres per day prior to June 2013.

“The GPP authority reported a 32 % increase in the amount of fuel received this week compared to the previous week (330,000 vs 250,000 litres per day). The GPP continued operating at half of its full capacity, triggering long electricity blackouts of up to 12 hours per day, and 16 hours per day in some areas, forcing people to relay on unsafe methods to light their houses.

“Fuel shortfalls have also continued to disrupt the provision of basic services, including water, sanitation, health and transportation. Local petrol stations sell, almost exclusively, fuel imported from Israel at double the price of the subsidized fuel purchased from Egypt and smuggled into Gaza via illegal tunnels.

“Construction materials have continued to enter via tunnels in limited amounts; the Palestinian Federation of Industries estimated that approximately150 tonnes of building materials (mainly cement) entered Gaza per day this week, compared to a daily average of more than 7,500 tonnes in June 2013.”

Why we need to stop trade with settlements

  • The whole settlement project is sustained by EU imports worth €225 million a year while EU trade with Palestinians is only €15 million a year.
  • Diplomatic pressure has no effect on Israel.  To quote Likud minister Danny Danon: “The international community can say whatever they want and we can do whatever we want.”
  • Stopping trade with illegal settlements is the only policy that is consistent with the UK’s declared policy of support for the state of Israel, but opposition to settlements.  
  • Stopping trade with illegal settlements will not affect the economy of Israel itself, only that of settlements that are not part of Israel.
  • We are not asking for a boycott or a sanction to be imposed until certain conditions are met, but for a declaration that is wrong to trade with illegal settlements in all circumstances.
  • Some international lawyers say we have an obligation to stop trading with illegal settlements. Other say we have the power (without breaking EU or GATT rules) rather than an obligation to do so. But all agree that settlements profit from the expropriation of Palestinian resources.  By trading with settlements, we profit from Palestinian poverty.
  • Many Israelis agree with Ran Gidor, former political counsellor at the Israeli Embassy in London, who said in the Commons that settlements are “the single biggest mistake in Israel’s history” – a disaster for Palestinians but a disaster also for Israel.

For fuller briefing on settlement trade, email martin@martinlinton.org or read these reports 

http://www.fidh.org/Trading-Away-Peace-

http://www.bdsmovement.net/2013/farming-injustice-briefing-10547

 

As it appeared in Hansard

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE Tuesday 29 October 2013

Palestinian Child Detainees

1. Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab): What assessment he has made of the treatment of Palestinian child detainees in Israel.

Middle East Minister, Hugh Robertson:  Despite some progress, we retain serious concerns about Israel’s treatment of Palestinian child detainees. The British ambassador in Tel Aviv wrote again to the Israeli Justice Minister on 14 October to urge further action.

Alex Cunningham: May I commend the Foreign Office report “Children in Military Custody” for exposing how the authorities in Israel arrest Palestinian children in the middle of the night, interrogate them without parents or lawyers present, bully them into signing confessions in a language they do not understand, and jail children as young as 12 years old? Will the Minister outline what action he is taking and tell the House how many of the 40 recommendations in the report have been carried out?

Hugh Robertson: I am due to make my first visit to the region next week, so will be addressing many of the concerns outlined in the hon. Gentleman’s question. As he knows, the Foreign Office funded the report carried out by Baroness Scotland. We continue to urge the Government of Israel to implement it in full. As I have said, I will be taking that up next week.

Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab): When the Minister visits the region, will he raise with his Israeli counterparts why Israel is the only country in the world that systematically tries children in military courts, and why about a quarter of the children currently in custody are held in Israel, which is also contrary to international law?

Hugh Robertson: Yes, I will do so. As I have said, the Foreign Office helped to fund Baroness Scotland’s excellent report into many of the issues surrounding child detainees. We not only funded that report, but entirely support it. During my time as a Minister, I will do everything I can to ensure that its recommendations are properly and correctly implemented.

Overseas British Risk Register

14. Ann McKechin (Glasgow North) (Lab): When he plans to issue guidance to UK businesses through the overseas business risk register on trade with illegal settlements.

Hugh Robertson: We will update our online guidance for citizens and businesses on overseas markets, including Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in the coming weeks, in line with the UK action plan on business and human rights.

Ann McKechin: I thank the Minister for his reply, but may I ask him urgently to review the documentation on the UK Trade & Investment website’s “Doing Business in Israel” section, which, according to Oxfam, encourages British businesses to invest in settlements in the Jordan valley by giving details of Israeli grants available for settlements business?

Hugh Robertson: Yes, I will certainly look at the guidance the Member mentions. The UK Government’s policy on this is very clear: settlements are illegal and they are an obstacle to peace, but we work in concert with our EU partners in producing guidelines that affect this issue.

DEPARTMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Wednesday 23rd October

Gaza

Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab): What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the levels of food, fuel and medical supplies entering Gaza each day. 

The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Mr Alan Duncan): Although the supply of food in Gaza is adequate, prices are rising fast. The level of fuel and medical supplies has dropped, exacerbating an already precarious humanitarian situation and threatening the basic needs of ordinary people in Gaza.

Paul Blomfield: The Minister has recognised in his reply that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is increasingly fragile. The impoverished Palestinian population is reliant on the tunnels for affordable goods. The tightening of restrictions by the Egyptian and Israeli authorities is resulting in shockingly high prices for fuel and basic commodities. With access to, and the affordability of, food becoming a huge problem, will the Government acknowledge that the blockade of Gaza is a violation of international humanitarian and human rights law and constitutes collective punishment?

Mr Speaker: There are extremely serious matters of life and death in Gaza. Let us hear the questions and the Minister’s answers.

Mr Duncan: I recognise exactly what the Member says. We would far rather see free movement and access for trade and economic activity in Gaza than an economy that is channelled through tunnels in a way that benefits Hamas. Israel’s plan to expand the capacity of the Allenby crossing between the west bank and Jordan is a welcome example of the sort of steps that can be taken to improve trade.

Sir Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con): The truth is that the international community and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency will have to continue supporting thousands of people in Gaza and the west bank until a two-state solution is found or until Gaza and the west bank are incorporated into de jure Israel. Permanent occupation is a perpetual hell for thousands of people. When will the international community find a long-term solution for Gaza and the West Bank?

Mr Duncan:  I hope that the efforts that are under way will lead to exactly the kind of agreement that my Friend is seeking. The efforts of the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister, in particular in working with the US Administration, will hopefully lead to a two-state solution and a long-lasting agreement that lead to peace and security between the two countries.

Ann McKechin (Glasgow North) (Lab): The Minister will be aware that the price of fuel in Gaza has almost doubled in recent weeks. What steps is his Department taking to assist small businesses in Gaza, particularly fishermen, who have been hit hard by that increase?

Mr Duncan: The Member makes a very fair point. The amount of fuel that enters Gaza via the tunnels has halved from about 1 million litres a day in June to about 500,000 litres this month. The Gaza power plant is operating at half its capacity, triggering electricity blackouts of up to 12 hours a day, exacerbating the already difficult economic and humanitarian situation in Gaza.

One liners on a settlement freeze

  • The starting point for talks must be 67 borders, not “facts on ground” built in breach of international law.
  • You can’t move goalposts in mid-football match so why allow Israel to build settlements in mid-talks?  
  • It’s inherent in idea of negotiations that you can’t change parameters mid-talks.
  • Isn’t Israel just building its own preconditions in bricks & mortar and calling them settlements?
  • Palestinians already dropped their claim to 78% of mandate Palestine in 1988. Surely you can’t expect them to give up more? 
  • Why is it seen as a “precondition” to insist Israel stops building settlements? It’s the law. 
  • Israel must observe existing agreements not to build settlements before new talks can start?
  • The Kerry-Blair plan will not work if Israelis keep building settlements. Will US have the guts this time to exert real pressure on Netanyahu?
  • Talks without a settlement freeze are a trap set by Israel so it can win by delay.

Bedouin ‘clearances’ in the Negev

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will make immediate representations to the government of Israel over its decision to set in motion the Prawer Plan for the removal of 40,000 Bedouin people from their ancestral homeland; [162732]
(2) if he will discuss with his EU counterparts making a co-ordinated approach to the government of Israel over its decision to set in motion the Prawer Plan for the removal of 40,000 Bedouin people from their ancestral homeland; [162733]
(3) if he will request that the US Government should make immediate representations to the Government of Israel over its decision to set in motion the Prawer Plan for the removal of 40,000 Bedouin people from their ancestral homeland. [162735]
Alistair Burt: We continue to follow closely Israeli Government plans with respect to Bedouin land claims and unrecognised villages in the Negev. We remain concerned by the possible relocation of thousands of Bedouin. I discussed the proposed legislation with Members of the Knesset when I visited Israel earlier this month.
Officials at the British embassy in Tel Aviv are in regular contact with Bedouin leaders and activists, and our ambassador has discussed the proposed legislation with relevant Ministers and parliamentarians. The embassy has also discussed this issue with EU and other partners in Tel Aviv.

Children in detention

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 June 2013 [OfficialReport, column 745] on Israel: children in detention, if he will make a statement on his discussions with the Israeli Attorney-General. [162177]
Alistair Burt: On 20 June, I met with Israeli Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He was accompanied by a senior delegation, including Deputy Attorney-General Shai Nitzan and the Israeli ambassador to London. We discussed a range of issues including the treatment of children in detention, the use of live fire in the Gaza buffer zone and in dealing with non-violent protests and demolition of Palestinian property.
On the question of child detainees we discussed the recommendations in Baroness Scotland’s report. I welcomed steps that Israel has taken of late to reduce the gap between provisions for Israeli and Palestinian children including: raising the age of majority to 18; reducing the time period by which an arrested minor must be brought before a judge formalising the right of a parent/guardian to be present in court; and introducing a special court for minors.
We also discussed the need for further progress. In particular, building on the report’s recommendations, we believe it is important to ensure: systematic use of audio-visual recording when questioning children; an end to solitary confinement for children; and notification of arrest in Arabic to parents/guardians so that they can support children in the legal process.

Burt won’t answer boycott question

David Ward MP had question No 17 on the order paper which was not reached during the last FCO questions, but it has now been answered as a written question:

Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the UK missions in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem purchase settlement goods. [160015]

Alistair Burt: Our overseas missions are obliged to follow UK and EU guidelines when purchasing goods and services from suppliers. These guidelines do not currently differentiate between products emanating from Israel or from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. However, we have ensured that UK procurement rules allow for human rights related matters to be reflected in the procurement of public goods and services.
Why is the Minister being so coy about his? Surely he could answer a simple ‘yes they do buy settlement goods’ or ‘no they don’t’?
Is he hinting that the UK missions are already operating a no-settlement-goods policy, but he doesn’t want to have to explain why he isn’t following their advice?
And how does his sit with his previous answer that FCO had not sought advice on the legality of banning settlement goods. He now says quite clearly that UK procurement rules “allow for human rights-related matters to be reflected in procurement”.

Only UK govt action will save talks

MPs now have a chance to quiz ministers on the last day of the session (DfID, July 17th) and on the second day of the September session (FCO, September 3rd).
With the chances of a renewed peace process now at an all-time low and with the US media ridiculing John Kerry’s claims to have made progress during his five visits to Jerusalem, the Kerry initiative appears to have run out of steam.
William Hague had so little to report from his visit to Jerusalem and Ramallah in June that he let Alistair Burt make it as a written statement (June 24th) which does little to discourage that view.
The Israelis could hardly have made their contempt more obvious. On the day before Kerry landed, they announced 69 new settlement houses at Har Homa. On his last day, as he was talking to President Abbas in Ramallah, they announced another 900, again at Har Homa.
They have done this before, most famously announcing plans for massive construction in the settlement of Ramat Shlomo to coincide with visit of Vice-President Joe Biden in March 2010.
 
Aides close to Kerry have admitted that his initiative will be dead if the two sides have not agreed to talks by the start of the UN General Assembly in September.
This turns the spotlight on to ACTIONS that the UK Government can take to pressure the Israeli government to stop building settlements by imposing the “incentives” and “disincentives” that Hague has long been talking about.
Despite his frequent condemnations of settlements as “illegal” Hague has ruled out any “boycott” or “sanctions” against the £190 million-a-year trade with the EU that keeps the settlements in business. Last month he told Grahame Morris MP: “I do not believe that imposing a ban on settlement goods will promote peace.”
But if the US can’t promote peace talks, it’s up to the UK to take the lead.  And if the Israelis won’t respond to diplomatic pressure, the only alternative is economic pressure. 
Last week week the moral highground was unexpectedly taken by McDonald’s Israel who refused to open a franchise in Ariel, deep inside Palestinian territory, on the grounds that it was not their policy to operate in settlements.
In apparent revenge Jerusalem soccer fans broke into a McDonald’s and attacked some of their workers. This was the team whose fans demonstrated against the signing of three Muslim players and who descended on a Jerusalem mall chanting “Death to Arabs” in March 2012.
The Foreign Secretary has never claimed to be conducting an ethical foreign policy, but he must surely see the irony of being upstaged in concern for human rights by McDonald’s.
The consensus among charities and campaigning bodies who support justice for the Palestinians is overwhelming that the only step that will have any impact now is a Government declaration that trade with the settlement is illegal – or at least guidance to business that settlement trade is inadvisable.

Hague rules out action on settlements

Dummies on question about legality of trade ban
Calls on Abbas to join talks “without preconditions”
“Lamentable lack” of action on children
FCO questions Tuesday June 18th
William Hague again ruled out taking Government action against trade with illegal Israeli settlements and refused even to say whether he believed the Government had the powers (under EU and GATT trade rules) to ban trade with illegal settlements.
He also repeated his request to the Palestinians “to enter negotiations without pre-conditions” which would mean starting talks while the Israelis are still building illegal settlements on Palestinian-owned land.
His answers will harden the prognosis that there is virtually no chance of a breakthrough when US Secretary of State John Kerry pays his fifth visit to Jerusalem and Ramallah at the end of this week.
Hague said there would be EU action on labelling so consumers are better informed, but the only chance of any progress will be if EU governments exert economic pressure on Israel to reinstate the freeze on settlement building that was lifted in September 2010 – leading to the breakdown of talks.
The Foreign Secretary repeated his refusal to curb the £195 million-a-year EU imports that sustain Israel’s illegal settlements, telling Grahame Morris MP: “I do not believe that imposing a ban on settlement goods will promote peace”.
When he was asked explicitly by Richard Burden MP whether it would be within the law for the UK to ban settlement trade, he dummied: “The question before us is not so much about what would be within the law as about what best promotes peace”.
He then agreed with Conservative Friends of Israel vice-chair James Clappison MP that Palestinians should drop their insistence on a settlement freeze: “We encourage the Palestinians to enter negotiations without pre-conditions.”
Palestinians continue to refuse talks without a settlement freeze because:
  • Insisting that Israel stops building settlements is not a “precondition”. It’s the law.
  • The Israelis agreed to this before the last set of talks. Why sit down to talks with someone who isn’t even doing what they agreed to before the last set of talks?
  • In the 20 years since the Oslo peace talks started, the Israelis have taken Palestinian land with impunity, doubling the number of settlers to 550,000.
  • Talks without a settlement freeze are a trap. They allow the Israelis to win by doing nothing.
  • It’s inherent in the idea of negotiations that you can’t change the parameters in the middle of talks.
  • You can’t move goalposts in mid-football match, so why allow Israel to build settlements in mid-talks?  
  • Israel is building its own preconditions in bricks & mortar and calling them settlements.
  • Palestinians already dropped their claim to 78% of mandate Palestine in 1988. They can’t be expected to give up more.

Nia Griffith MP asked about progress on the treatment of Palestinian children in the Israeli prison system since the publication a year ago of the Foreign Office-funded report on “Children in Military Custody”.  Independent reports have shown that limited progress has been made on only two of the 40 recommendations in the report.

The MP said the lack of reform had been “lamentable” and called for deadlines on specific issues such as the use of audio-visual recordings in all interrogations. Middle East Minister Alistair Burt said he would “continue to press on the matter”.
David Ward MP said that if the Foreign Secretary could not support a Government ban on trade with illegal settlements, he could “provide some moral leadership by saying that he will personally agree to boycott such goods”.

Moral leadership was not, however, forthcoming: “I am not in close control of the fresh produce purchased in the Hague household, since certain of my other duties interfere with that. While I am Foreign Secretary, I do not expect to have that onerous responsibility placed on me.”

Israelis demolish 247 homes – Minister

Israeli army knocks down Palestinian homes paid for by international donors – David Ward MP

Ministers answered three questions on Palestine at Oral Questions to the Secretary of State for International Development today. 

*8 Mr David Ward MP: What research her Department has undertaken into the humanitarian effects of the occupation of the West Bank?

Aid Minister Alan Duncan: We are deeply concerned by the impact of the occupation on the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank.  Reports from the UN and others clearly document poverty, displacement, constrained growth and the demolition this year alone of 247 Palestinian structures. 

David Ward (Bradford East) (LDem):  Those who have been to the West Bank and Gaza will be frustrated to constantly see international aid used to pay for buildings which are then promptly knocked down by the Israeli regime.  Is the Minister aware that, according to figures in the UN Humanitarian Monitor for April, there was a 30% rise in the number of Palestinians displaced by house demolitions and a total of 46 structures demolished by the Israeli army, which included five paid for by international donors.

Alan Duncan: The Government shares the Member’s concerns about the nature and scale of demolitions.  I am glad to say we have contributed to the constructionof a number of schools in Gaza where children will be educated – we hope without their premises ever being demolished.

Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con):  With the Council for European Palestinian Relations, I recently visited Palestinian refugees in Lebanon who had fled from Syria. Is the Secretary of State satisfied that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency is doing all that it can to help those people, who are living in miserable conditions?

International Development Secretary Justine Greening:  I thank the Member for that question, because that important aspect of the crisis is often not recognised. We have provided £5 million to UNRWA particularly to support its work with Palestinian refugees. That will support more than 350,000 Palestinian refugees in Syria, and will go on food parcels and other relief items.

Jim McGovern (Dundee West) (Lab): A member of my staff, Lee Butcher, recently visited Palestine. He was shocked and stunned to see how Palestinians are treated by the Israelis, for example having no water for weeks on end. What can the Government do to help those Palestinians who are suffering such pain?

Alan Duncan: We put as much pressure and argument as we can to improve the condition of Palestinians in Area C, and we very much hope that such issues will be addressed in the peace process, which we wish every success, as it continues over the next few weeks.

Latest from the West Bank

  • In the week ending June 3 Israeli settlers set fire to or cut down at least 1,220 olive trees in the West Bank, according to UN figures, and slashed tyres, sprayed graffiti, set fire to or threw rocks at Palestinian-owned cars in Jerusalem.
  • The number of Palestinians injured as a direct result of the conflict in the first four months of this year was 661, of whom 660 were civilians.

Latest from Gaza

  • In the week ending June 3, only one truck left Gaza carrying exports compared with an average of 240 a week before the blockade. The unemployment rate in Gaza is now 30% and 54% among women under 25.
  • Israeli naval forces have opened fire on Palestinian fishermen on a number of occasions in the last month to enforce a six-mile limit which has reduced the number of registered fishermen in Gaza from 10,000 to 3,500.
  • Over 100 Gazans have sustained permanent disabilities as a result of the outbreak of hostilities last November. The National Society for Rehabilitation in the Gaza Strip which cares for 1,700 people disabled by the conflict

Two-state solution update:

A minister in the Israeli government has stated what has long been obvious – that Prime Minister Netanyahu no longer believes in the two-state solution, if he ever did.  Opposition MPs have called for the minister to be sacked but so far he hasn’t been.

End your illusion: Israeli government will never implement a two-state solution, top official says

Proof – if it were needed – that for the British Foreign Secretary to merely condemn illegal settlements is pointless.  He’s condemned them 100 times already. Condemning is easy. The issue is what he’s going to do about it?

http://www.timesofisrael.com/deputy-defense-minister-this-government-will-block-any-peace-deal/

‘Palestine only needs aid because of Israeli restrictions’ Minister

MPs’ criticisms of UK aid rejected

 

Report on DfID Questions on Wed March 13th
Aid minister Alan Duncan told MPs this week it was “essential” that Israel eased its restrictions on the Palestinian economy and that the UK and other international donors continued to support the Palestinian Authority in a consistent manner.Movement and access restrictions, such as the Israeli wall, 540 roadblocks in the West Bank and the blockade of Gaza, were the only reason why the Palestinian Authority needed to be supported by international donors.Without the restrictions the Palestinian economy would be 78% larger, he said, citing a report from the International Monetary Fund.Removal of the Israeli restrictions would boost Palestine’s gross domestic product by £4,200 million a year ($6.3bn) and “that would remove its dependence on aid”, said the minister.

He urged Israel to remove its restrictions and to meet its legal obligations to transfer tax and customs revenues which it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.

He rejected an accusation from Conservative MP Mike Freer that British aid were being “used to pay salaries of up to £2,000 a month to convicted Palestinian terrorists”.

“DfID’s support to the Palestinian Authority is used specifically to pay for the salaries of civil servants,” the minister said. “The list of approved recipients is subject both to vetting processes and to independent audit.”

He went on to reject a suggestion  from Conservative MP Gordon Henderson that British aid money had funded an anti-smoking puppet show at a community centre in East Jerusalem where “the children were urged to replace cigarettes with machine guns”.

The Minister replied that the puppet show “was performed not by an NGO, but by a visiting organisation. No UK or UN funds had anything whatever to do with sanctioning this performance, and the community centre itself was angered by the content and made its own disapproval very clear.”
As it appeared in Hansard ……

Oral Answers to Questions

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The Secretary of State was asked—

March 13th 2013  

 
Palestinian Authority
Question 3. Mike Freer (Finchley and Golders Green) (Con): What recent assessment she has made of the financial stability of the Palestinian Authority.
Minister of State Mr Alan Duncan: We estimate that the Palestinian Authority’s funding gap in 2013 is likely to be at least $500 million, which will continue to make it hard for it to pay salaries and deliver essential public services. The PA must of course show financial discipline itself, but for it to become stable it is essential that international donors support it in a consistent manner and that Israel eases its restrictions and meets its legal obligations to transfer tax revenues.
Mike Freer: I thank the Minister for that answer, but is he aware that British aid donations to the Palestinian Authority general budget are being used to pay salaries of up to £2,000 a month to convicted Palestinian terrorists, many of whom have been properly convicted? What assurances can the Government provide that no further UK aid donations will be spent in that way?
Mr Duncan: I can assure him that we have a system in place under which DFID’s support to the Palestinian Authority is used specifically to pay for the salaries of civil servants. The list of approved recipients is subject both to vetting processes and to independent audit.
Mr Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab): Does the Minister agree that the best way to improve the financial stability of the Palestinian Authority would be to lift the blockade of Gaza and movement and access restrictions on the West Bank? Does he also think that the EU should be trading with the Palestinians and not with the illegal Israeli settlements?
Mr Duncan: A 2011 International Monetary Fund report estimated that without movement and access restrictions the Palestinian economy would be 78% larger in terms of GDP a year, amounting to about $6.3 billion. That would remove its dependence on aid.
John Howell (Henley) (Con): Is there not a more general question about international donor money being used to support Palestinian institutions that have taken violence against Israel? What steps are the Government taking to ensure that that money genuinely contributes to financial stability and is not used in a way that undermines the peace process?
Mr Duncan: We rigorously monitor any danger there might be that the Palestinian Authority in any way incites violence, but it is committed to do exactly the opposite, and it is right that we support it, the potential Government of a Palestinian state. We wish to see further progress towards the peace process over the months ahead.
Anas Sarwar (Glasgow Central) (Lab): We all support the creation of a viable two-state solution in the Middle East, but that will come about only if the Palestinians are able to run an effective country. What assessment have the Government made of the structures available in the Palestinian Authority to make that happen?
Mr Duncan: The structures are sorely stretched, which is why we continue to support the Palestinian Authority, and of course we also urge other donors, particularly the Arab states, to carry their fair share of commitment, because if the Palestinian Authority were to collapse there is a serious danger that all prospects of proper peace negotiations would collapse as well.
Question 7. Gordon Henderson (Sittingbourne and Sheppey) (Con): What processes are in place to ensure that non-governmental organisations in the Palestinian Authority that are funded by the UK, the EU and the UN do not promote incitement of hate.
Minister of State Mr Alan Duncan: We deplore incitement on either side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including any comments that could stir up hatred and prejudice. UK, EU and UN-funded NGOs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are subject to rigorous due diligence assessments designed to ensure that funds are used only for legitimate development purposes.
Gordon Henderson: I welcome the Minister’s answer, but in east Jerusalem last year a UN-funded Palestinian NGO performed a puppet show promoting non-smoking. This well intentioned educational message was corrupted somewhat when the children were urged to replace cigarettes with machine guns. Will the Minister assure me that no British financial aid donations, direct or indirect, are being used to fund such propaganda?
Mr Duncan: I am aware of that puppet show, put on in a funded community centre, and I am grateful to my Friend for raising it. It was an utterly stupid and irresponsible way of corrupting an otherwise sensible no-smoking message. It was performed not by an NGO, but by a visiting organisation. No UK or UN funds had anything whatever to do with sanctioning this performance, and the community centre itself was angered by the content and made its own disapproval very clear.
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield) (Lab): I agree with the Minister that it is very important that we oppose all those who promote hate in the Middle East. May I invite him to say that we must also stand with those human rights organisations in Israel and in Palestine that stand out against hate crimes such as the so-called price tag attacks?
Mr Duncan: It is essential that we make a stand against the incitement of hate from either side in any way. I share the Gentleman’s commitment to doing so in his great understanding of this issue.

Record number of Questions on Palestine

Pressure builds for a total stop on settlement trade 
Will the Government put any economic pressure on the Israelis to stop expanding their illegal settlements in the West Bank so that negotiations on a settlement with the Palestinians can resume?
In Tuesday’s Foreign Office questions there were a record number of questions – 7 out of 15 – focused on the Israel-Palestine conflict and all but one of them critical of the Israeli government – a sign of how opinion is shifting within the House of Commons.
But the answers brought no more clarity about the Government’s intentions.  The Foreign Secretary, William Hague, placed all his hopes on an American effort to revive the peace process when President Obama visits Israel and Palestine later this month.
He also repeated his promise to “incentivise” and if need be “disincentivise” either side from actions, such as building illegal settlements, which were an obstacle to the resumption of negotiations.
Middle East minister Alistair Burt repeated his mantra that “we do not believe in a boycott”, but MPs were left guessing what the difference might be between a boycott or sanctions and “disincentivisation”.
Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab) urged the minister to focus on areas where he could do something that would make a difference:
“What he can do something about is the import of illegal goods from settlements, which are running at eight times the level of imports from all Palestinians. Will he now take steps to prevent the import of goods from illegal settlements to the UK?”
 
But the minister would only say that he would work with European partners on the possibility of extending voluntary labelling of Israeli settlement goods brought in by the last government.
Nia Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab) asked the Foreign Secretary to agree that the starting point for negotiations should be the legal status quo—that the whole of the West Bank and east Jerusalem is Palestinian land, as agreed unanimously by the UN Security Council – and not “facts on the ground” created by illegal settlement building.
 
Ian Mearns (Gateshead) (Lab) said he seemed to expect Palestinians to have the patience of Job as they were facing “the single largest proposed demolition of Palestinian homes since 1967” in the Silwan areas close to the old city of Jerusalem.
“What will he do to try to instil a sense of reality among the Israeli authorities to stop this unlawful theft of Palestinian land, which can only hinder the search for a two-state solution?”
Chris Williamson (Derby North) (Lab) asked the Foreign Secretary to accept that a freeze on settlement building is a requirement imposed by international law, not a precondition imposed by the Palestinians.
Sir Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)  raised the segregation of public transport in Israel with “settler-only” buses and “Palestinian” buses, introduced this week with echoes of apartheid South Africa 25 years ago and of the southern states of the USA 50 years ago.
“Appeasing the racist regime in Israel must stop. Will the Minister, with his European Union colleagues, end our cosy relationship in view of such behaviour?” 
 
David Winnick (Walsall North) (Lab) said that the crux of the matter was that Israeli governments did not believe there would be any serious consequences as a result of what they did.
“Can one understand the sheer anger, resentment and frustration of the Palestinians who see no political progress at all? What would we do if we were in the same position as the Palestinians in the occupied territories?”
Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con) said no other country would allow large numbers of migrants to occupy its land, denying the land to local people?
“Why is so much energy put into the likes of Syria after two years, when nothing appears to be done about Palestine’s West Bank, and in particular East Jerusalem, after 40 years?”
Middle East minister Alistair Burt agreed that the barrier between Israelis and Palestinians was getting more and more severe and the opportunities for people to live together in the future were getting more and more remote.
 
Sir Menzies Campbell (North East Fife) (LD) said many well-informed commentators and analysts believe that that time for a two-state solution “has now gone”.
The Foreign Secretary said that while he thought that the time for it was “slipping away” and that 2013 might be the last chance, he did not think that the time had yet gone.
 
Crispin Blunt (Reigate) (Con) asked the Foreign Secretary what he would do if the American peace effort failed “as all the others have”? Was it not time to make it clear to the Israeli authorities that their flagrant breach of international law would finally have to be met by some serious consequences?
 
The Foreign Secretary argued that “we need to allow time and space for this American effort to develop as President Obama visits the region later in the month.
“But I believe that it will important for us to be able to say … what we will do to support the process and to incentivise the parties involved. Of course, it may also be open to us to disincentivise—if I may use that word—those parties at crucial moments.”
Mr Hague first used these words in December when he told the Commons that he had been talking to the French and German Foreign Ministers “about how we can more actively support a US initiative .. with European states contributing to incentives and disincentives for both sides to return to negotiations”.
He repeated the same formula in January when Labour front bencher Ian Lucas asked if he would “use the wish for Israeli to develop stronger trading relations with the European Union as a means of achieving progress in the Middle East”.
 
MPs returning from visits to Palestine
Pleas for hunger-strikers and Gaza fishermen
 
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab): The Foreign Secretary may not be aware that last Saturday, in Palestine, I visited the mothers and surviving family members—of Ayman Ismail, who is being held in administrative detention and has been on hunger strike for 246 days, and of Samer Issawi, who is being held on trumped-up charges after being tried twice, once by a civil court which said that he should be released tomorrow and once by a military court which is holding him for 20 years, He has been on hunger strike for 223 days, and is in a critical condition. Will the Foreign Secretary make clear to Netanyahu that if these men die, their blood will be on his hands?
 
Sarah Teather (Brent Central) (LD): I recently visited Gaza as part of a cross-party delegation with Interpal. While there I was alarmed to witness, on three different occasions, the shooting at and intimidation of Palestinian fishing boats that appeared to be clearly inside the six-mile limit agreed by the ceasefire. Earlier, the Foreign Secretary roundly condemned, as is right and proper, the firing of rockets into Israel, but does he agree that peace depends on both sides sticking to the terms of the ceasefire, including Israeli naval ships?
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Lab): Like the hon. Members for Brent Central (Sarah Teather) and for Kettering (Mr Hollobone), I was on an Interpal delegation to Gaza last week. I would be grateful if the Minister could tell us what is being done to lift the blockade on Gaza so that the terrible water situation can be addressed. Sewage cannot be processed, fresh water is unobtainable because of the pollution of the aquifer, and the material to set up a desalination plant or something like it cannot be brought in to provide a decent standard of living for the people of Gaza.