§ Mr. Menzies CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) pursuant to his answer of 11 March 2002,Official Report, column 689W, to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Kelvin (Mr. Galloway), what changes have been made to the evaluation of end-use undertakings issued by the Israeli Government with reference to Israel's assurances on 29 November 2000 on the use of UK originated equipment and systems; and if he will make a statement; [46418]
(2) pursuant to his answer of 11 March 2002, Official Report, column 689W, to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Kelvin (Mr. Galloway), what steps the Government are taking to clarify whether UK-controlled goods have been used by the Israel defence force activities in the Occupied Territories; and if he will make a statement. [46419]
§ Mr. StrawThe written reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Kelvin (Mr. Galloway) on 11 March 2002,Official Report, column 689W, informed Parliament of information that had come to light about UK-supplied equipment licensed for export under a previous Administration and a different export control regime being used in the occupied territories. I undertook to inform my hon. Friend and the House of the response from the Israeli Government to our request for an explanation.
Following parallel action taken in London——on 12 March——and by our embassy in Tel Aviv——on 13 March——the Israeli Foreign Ministry formally responded on 26 March.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has said that the assurances given on 29 November 2000 were in good faith, and offered an explanation based on operational need about the use of the armoured personnel carriers in the occupied territories. They did not however accept that this was a breach of the assurances given and they have not committed to stop using the armoured personnel 721W carriers in the occupied territories. In the light of this response we will (a) continue to assess export licence applications for the proposed export of controlled goods to Israel on a case-by-case basis against the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria; but (b) in so doing, we will no longer take the Israeli assurances given on 29 November 2000 into account.
We also have questions about other possible breaches of the assurances with regard to equipment supplied under previous Administrations, which we are taking up with the Israeli authorities. I will report the results of our inquiries to the House once they are complete.
§ Linda PerhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what changes have been made to the advice given to travellers to Israel since the outbreak of recent fighting; and what further changes to this advice are planned. [49040]
§ Mr. BradshawAll travel advice notices are kept under constant review and updated to reflect the latest security situation.
Since the most recent invasion of the occupied territories on 28–29 March, the travel advice for Israel and the Palestinian Authority has been updated twice to reflect the developments in the security situation and the risks to British nationals in Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Our key message
We strongly advise against travel to the west bank and Gaza, the Israel/Gaza border area and the area long Israel's border with Lebanonhas not changed during this period.On 4 April the travel advice was updated to state that Ramallah and Bethlehem had been declared closed military zones by the Israeli army. This meant that no one can travel in or out. British nationals in the west bank and Gaza were advised to leave when the situation permitted.