Written question asked by Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated) on Tuesday, 19 December 2017, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Friday, 5 January 2018. It was answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Conservative) on Thursday, 4 January 2018 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Israel: Palestinians

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel concerning the reported arrest and abuse of Palestinian minors in relation to unidentified charges.

Answer: The UK has strong concerns about continued reports of mistreatment of Palestinian minors in Israeli military detention, notably the use of painful restraints and insufficient notification of legal rights. Our Ambassador to Israel raised concerns about this issue with Minister of Justice Shaked on 7 December. The Minister for the Middle East (Alistair Burt) also raised our concerns with the Israeli authorities during his visit to Israel in August 2017. We continue to regularly raise this issue with the Israeli authorities, and to press them to secure improvements to the practices surrounding the military detention of minors.

Secondary information