Written question asked by Lord Hylton (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Triesman (Labour) on Thursday, 24 May 2007.

Israel and Palestine

Question: asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they support the recommendations of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, concerning 33 detained members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, including its speaker, and their conditions of captivity; whether they will raise the particular issue of the detention of Dr A A Dweik (the speaker) and his poor state of health with the quartet and directly with the Government of Israel.

Answer: We do share the concerns of the Inter-Parliamentary Union concerning the 33 detained members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, including its Speaker Abdel Dweik. Although we have no plans to raise this with the quartet (EU, US, UN and Russia) or the Israeli Government, we do support the EU’s calls at the 22 January General Affairs and External Relations Council for the immediate release of Palestinian Ministers and legislators detained in Israel.

Secondary information