On 18th March 2025, the Bishop of Gloucester tabled a question on the durability of the ceasefire in Gaza, condemning the recent airstrikes on Gaza and raising the possibility of targeted sanctions against the Israeli government:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the durability of the ceasefire in Gaza.
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The Bishop of Southwark received the following written answer on 17th March 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked His Majesty’s Government whether they have made representations to the government of Israel regarding the Protection of Israeli Public Officials from the Action of the International Criminal Court in The Hague against the State of Israel Bill 2024.
Continue reading “Bishop of Southwark asks new Israeli legislation concerning the ICC”The Bishop of Southwark received the following written answer on 13th March 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the likely impact of the Associations Bill (Amendment—Donation from Foreign State Entity) 2024, currently before the Knesset, on the United Kingdom’s overseas development assistance to Israeli and Palestinian human rights organisations.
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The Bishop of Gloucester asked a question on the intensification of Israeli military activity in the West Bank on 30th January 2025, following a government statement on the humanitarian situation in Gaza:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, I am grateful for this Statement and thank the Minister for her sensitive and careful comments. Would she accept that, although the ceasefire agreement offers a glimmer of hope that a different future is possible, the situation in the West Bank continues to go from bad to worse? What assessment have the Government made of Israel’s intensification of military action in the West Bank? The fear held by many, including those on these Benches who have just returned from that region, is that this is a precursor to full or partial annexation. What is the Government’s strategy for dealing with the deteriorating situation in the West Bank?
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about Israeli military activity in the West Bank”The Bishop of Gloucester asked a question on steps being taken to call on Israel to act in accordance with the UN Charter and international humanitarian law on 26th November 2024, during a discussion on restrictions on international aid workers in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, what specific steps are being taken to call on Israel to act consistently with its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and its other obligations under international humanitarian law?
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about steps taken to ensure Israel acts in accordance with humanitarian law”The Bishop of Oxford asked a question on government efforts to encourage community cohesion on 8th October 2024, following a statement marking the anniversary of the October 7th attacks in Israel and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East:
The Lord Bishop of Oxford: My Lords, I thank the Minister for her very compassionate and clear Statement and the tone in which it was delivered. I also thank other noble Lords who have spoken and no doubt those who will speak about these terrible, terrible events and the effect they are having on our own communities.
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The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answers on 7th October 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the intensification of land confiscation, settlement construction and settlement expansion in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since 7 October 2023.
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about treatment of Palestinians by Israeli settlers”During a discussion on the conflict in Israel and Gaza on 3rd September 2024, the Bishop of Gloucester asked a question on growing settler violence in the West Bank and Occupied Palestinian Territories, and the recent attack on and dispossession of a Palestinian Christian family
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, I am grateful to the Foreign Secretary for holding together the trauma of the Israeli hostages and their families and communities, and that of the families and communities of Gaza.
I am very concerned that, as has been said by the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, we do not lose sight of the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories of the West Bank. I had the painful privilege of visiting there very recently and I was deeply perturbed, not least by the growing settler activity and, as has been said, the illegal settler outposts, including the abhorrent attack and subsequent dispossession of the Kissieh family of Palestinian Christians near Bethlehem. Will the Government take action on this as well as on the issue of arms licences?
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about settler violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories”The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 2nd September 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take in response to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice issued on 19 July regarding (1) Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, and (2) its discriminatory laws and policies against Palestinians.
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about ICC judgement regarding Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories”The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answer on 23rd May 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government:
The Church of England in Parliament 
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