Oral Answers to Questions

Yasmin Qureshi Excerpts

Tuesday 20th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough and Thornaby East) (Lab)]

20. What steps her Department is taking to help improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

[Yasmin Qureshi (Bolton South and Walkden) (Lab)]

24. What steps her Department is taking to help ensure the continued delivery of aid in Gaza and the west bank.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Yvette Cooper)]

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is still dire, because of the winter conditions and a lack of urgently needed aid. Last month we were pleased to learn that UK-funded tents had entered Gaza to provide critical shelter for 12,000 people, and the Government are matching £3 million of donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s middle east humanitarian appeal, but far more still needs to be done. We still need much greater access through crossings and the lifting of barriers to aid in order to deal with this humanitarian crisis.

--- Later in debate ---

[Yvette Cooper]

I agree with my hon. Friend about the destructive impact of deregistering NGOs. Part of the 20-point plan that President Trump set out, which Israel and all countries signed up to, was about substantially increasing humanitarian aid and support in Gaza. Instead, the current situation takes us backwards. It is significant that the Palestinian National Committee for Gaza has now been set up. I have continually pressed, in all the international discussions, that the committee should be able to take responsibility for significantly increasing humanitarian aid.

[Yasmin Qureshi]

Even during the ceasefire, Israel is blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza while pushing ahead with illegal settlements in the E1 area, which the UK Government have described as a

“flagrant breach of international law”.

Does the Foreign Secretary accept that, by these actions, Israel is essentially trying to bury the idea of a state of Palestine? Apart from good words, what concrete action are we going to take to prevent that from happening?

[Yvette Cooper]

As my hon. Friend knows, the UK took the historic decision to recognise the state of Palestine in the autumn. We are clear that ensuring there is a two-state solution also means tackling illegal settlement expansion and settler violence. Alongside 26 international partners, we have condemned the E1 settlement plan and the recent steps to further that plan. I urge Israel to listen to the weight of international opinion on this issue, because it needs to be part of delivering the 20-point plan and a just and lasting peace.