Written question asked by Emily Thornberry (Labour) on Wednesday, 12 February 2020, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 24 February 2020. It was answered by James Cleverly (Conservative) on Monday, 24 February 2020 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Israel: Palestinian Islamic Jihad

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the threat posed to that country by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Answer: As we made clear in our statement on 13 November 2019, indiscriminate attacks against civilians are unacceptable and unjustifiable, and make peace harder to achieve. The ongoing decision by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) to embrace violence and reject the Quartet principles lies at the heart of the Gaza situation. The UK fully supports Israel's right to self-defence and to defend its citizens from such acts of terror. PIJ and other terrorist groups must cease all actions that are violent or provocative, or that put civilian lives at risk.

Secondary information