Tag: Israel

Bishop of Southwark asks about government policy towards Israel and Palestine

The Bishop of Southwark asked a question on efforts to recognise Palestinian statehood and the issue of trade with illegal settlements in Israel on 16th June 2025, following a government statement on the conflict in the Middle East:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, I pray for wise judgment and a swift end to the current conflict between Israel and Iran. I pray for restraint and for the safety and well-being of Jewish people, here and around the world. I support the steps that have been made to protect British nationals and I am appalled by the attacks on civilians, wherever they occur.

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Bishop of Gloucester asks about Israeli expansion of settlements in the West Bank

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 13th June 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government:

  • what assessment they have made of the government of Israel’s decision to build a Palestinian-only bypass road in the E1 area of the West Bank.
  • His Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding plans to build settlements in the E1 area of the West Bank.
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Bishop of Gloucester asks about International Court of Justice Opinion on Israeli activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 10th June 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government whether they will publish a response to the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legal Consequences Arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and when.

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Bishop of Southwark asks about recent attack on Anglican Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza and urges government to consider recognition of state of Palestine

On 9th June 2025, the Bishop of Southwark asked a question on the recent Israeli forces attack on the Anglican Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza, and raised the need for the UK government to recognise the state of Palestine:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister and to His Majesty’s Government for the Statement on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. May I press the Minister on two things? The first is the attack by Israeli forces on the compound of the Anglican al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, killing five, including three journalists and a father escorting his son to the surgical unit for treatment for prior injuries. This is the latest in a number of attacks by the IDF on church hospitals and churches, in defiance of international law. Will the Minister accept that specific actions are now required, since reasoned pleas have been ignored?

Secondly, in light of what the Minister has said about the UN conference from 17 to 20 June and the conducive time to recognise Palestine, will he confirm that a bold and clear statement will be made at that conference of the Government’s firm intention to recognise the state of Palestine?

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Church Commissioners Written Questions: Overseas Trade (Israel and Occupied Territories), Churches (Heating)

On 6th June 2025, Marsha De Cordova MP, on behalf of the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:

Overseas Trade: Israel and Occupied Territories

Kevin Hollinrake MP (Con, Thirsk and Malton): To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2025 to Question 52266 on Overseas Trade: Israel and Occupied Territories, which companies that trade with (a) Israel and (b) the Occupied Territories are excluded following a controversy screen and assessment of the human rights risks.

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Bishop of Southwark asks about humanitarian aid to Gaza

The Bishop of Southwark received the following written answer on 5th June 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked His Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning its responsibilities under international humanitarian law for access to food, water and medical supplies by the population of Gaza.

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Bishop of Gloucester asks about events in Gaza and the West Bank

The Bishop of Gloucester asked a question on the links between events in Gaza and in the West Bank, and the broader issue of Israeli treatment of Palestinians, during a discussion on provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza on 4th June 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, I too declare an interest, having just returned from Israel/Palestine last week. As we talk about humanitarian aid, does the Minister agree that the horrors we are now seeing in Gaza cannot and should not be separated from the tensions and conflicts in the West Bank, and that what we are seeing across the whole of the Occupied Palestinian Territories of Gaza, east Jerusalem and the West Bank are all part of one and the same thing —a diminishing of human dignity and equality, a dispossession of land and identity, and a violation by the Israeli Government of the right of Palestinian people to self-determination?

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Church Commissioners Written Questions: Archbishops Council, Overseas Trade – Israel & Occupied Territories

On 20th May 2025, Marsha De Cordova MP, on behalf of the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:

Archbishops Council

Danny Kruger MP (Con, East Wiltshire): To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, if she will (a) publish the amounts certified under subsection 2(6) of the National Institutions Measure 1998 for each year since that provision came into force and (b) place copies of the annual statutory certificates issued to the Church Commissioners under subsection 2(6) in the House of Commons Library.

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Bishop of Gloucester asks about situation in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answers on 12th April 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government, in the light of the resumed fighting in Gaza, what plans they have to ensure access to humanitarian aid and a return to a ceasefire.

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Bishop of Manchester asks about situation in the West Bank

The Bishop of Manchester asked a question on the situation in the West Bank on 24th March 2025, following a government statement on the conflict in Gaza:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: I am very grateful for the Statement that was brought to this House today. From these Benches, I echo the comments that noble Lords have made about the fact that Hamas must have no part in any future government of the Palestinian territories or any future Palestinian state. Every time the situation in Gaza has become more warlike, under the fog of that war there have been atrocities committed in the West Bank. Some of the more extreme settler movements are trying to oust Palestinian farming families from territories that everybody accepts are theirs by right. What can His Majesty’s Government do to ensure that we do not lose sight of the West Bank at this time when, quite rightly, there is a proper focus on Gaza?

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