Written question asked by Baroness Tonge (Independent Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Howell of Guildford (Conservative) on Monday, 19 March 2012.

Israel and Palestine

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there has been an escalation of the use of lethal force against protesters by the Israeli military, in the light of the death on 24 February in al-Ram village of a Palestinian civilian, and the recent injury to Mohammed Tayseer Yousef Abu Awwad; and whether they have any plans to make representations to the Government of Israel on these cases.

Answer: The Government support the general right to peaceful protest everywhere, including Palestinians' legitimate right to protest non-violently against the occupation. We urge all parties to ensure that everything is done to avoid violent clashes and casualties. It is not clear that there has been an escalation in the frequency of such occurrences. Officials at our embassy in Tel Aviv raised these issues with the office of the Co-ordinator of the Government Authorities for the Territories. We have been assured that the Israeli Defence Forces regretted the death of Tal'at Ramya, and have opened up a full military investigation (as is standard procedure in the instance of a civilian death). We stressed the importance of full, transparent investigations of civilian deaths during the handling of protests, particularly in light of the death of Mustapha Tamimi in December 2011 during protests in Nabi Saleh in the West Bank, who was killed by a tear gas canister wound to the head. We continue to raise the issue of the Israeli Defence Force handling of these protests with the Israeli authorities.

Secondary information