Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Andrew Gwynne
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to assist coexistence education projects in Israel.

Mr. Ivan Lewis
The UK has provided financial support to educational projects which promote co-existence between Jewish and Arab children in Israel.

Andrew Gwynne
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance his Department is providing to projects to promote a shared society between Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel.

Mr. Ivan Lewis
The Government have spent over £100,000 in the current financial year to support projects and organisations that develop co-existence between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel.

Andrew Gwynne
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on equality between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel.

Mr. Ivan Lewis
The UK regularly raises concerns regarding equality issues. I discussed the issue of Israeli minorities in a meeting with the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister on 9 February. We also highlighted the issue in the 2009 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report on Human Rights, which was published on 17 March.