Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about the detention of Palestinian children. As someone who has visited the West Bank and seen the difficulties ordinary Palestinians have in living their daily lives, this is a subject I take some interest in.

The detention of Palestinian children in Israeli prisons is extremely worrying and I know that my colleagues in Government share your concerns.

In 2012, an independent report on Children in Military Custody was funded and facilitated by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Since its publication, Ministers and our Ambassador to Israel have strongly urged the recommendations of the report to be implemented. Minister of State, Alistair Burt, raised the issue of children in detention with Israeli authorities when he visited the region in August.

I continue to take an active interest in this human rights issue and hope that progress can be made.

Given that Ministers continue to urge their Israeli counterparts to implement the recommendations of the Children in Military Custody report, I don’t think that there is any additional mileage in adding my name to this EDM.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.

EDWARD LEIGH MP