§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what action has been taken by(a) Amnesty International, (b) the International Committee for the Red Cross, (c) the International Commissioner for Human Rights and (d) his Department in attempting to secure the release of Israelis kidnapped on the Israeli side of the Israeli-Lebanon border; [160990]
459W(2) if he will discuss with the Government of Lebanon the whereabouts of (a) the three Israeli soldiers kidnapped on the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border and (b) the Israeli civilian kidnapped in Switzerland. [160988]
§ Mr. WilsonThe Government condemn hostage taking under any circumstances. On 3 May the Foreign Secretary and I met the families of the three soldiers kidnapped in occupied Syrian territory on 7 October and the reservist colonel kidnapped in Lebanon on 4 October. The Government are already doing all they can to help and have raised these cases with relevant countries in the region and will continue to do so, pressing particularly for access to the hostages for the ICRC. We also support the ICRC's wish to have access to all those held by Israel in administrative detention. We strongly support all efforts to secure the release of all hostages, particularly efforts led by the United Nations Secretary-General. We are regularly in touch with the relevant organisations but cannot answer for them.