Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 165: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the ongoing demolition of homes in east Jerusalem; if his attention has further been drawn to the case of a person (details supplied); if he will raise the issue with the appropriate Israeli authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35985/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I am very aware of the issues raised by the Deputy. The Government has followed the situation, including the case of the person in question, through the Embassy in Tel Aviv and the Representative Office in Ramallah, and in consultation with Palestinian, Israeli and Irish human rights groups and NGOs.

The Government and our EU partners have consistently called on the Israeli Government to end all activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories which are contrary to international law, including settlement expansion, the destruction of Palestinian homes and the construction of the separation barrier on occupied land. We have raised these issues directly with the Israeli Government, in conjunction with our EU partners, and at the United Nations. We will continue actively to do so.

The practice of house demolitions in East Jerusalem is closely linked to the issues of residency status and the expansion of settlements. The Israeli authorities have placed very severe restrictions on the building of houses by Palestinians in East Jerusalem and have declared illegal any construction work carried out without an official permit. In practice, fewer than 100 building permits are issued to Palestinians each year, following a lengthy and difficult administrative process. Israeli rules which require all Palestinians with Jerusalem residency status to take up residence in the city, or risk losing the status, have obliged significant numbers of people to move back to East Jerusalem from other areas of the West Bank. This has seriously increased the pressure on housing. Many Palestinians have built homes without the permits required by the Israeli authorities because they believe that they have no alternative.

The Government and our EU partners have made it clear to the Israeli Government that it must end the practice of house demolitions in East Jerusalem. It is contrary to international law and, together with other policies and activities in and around East Jerusalem, threatens to undermine the viability of a negotiated two-State solution.