Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to end the blockade of the Gaza strip by Israel.

There is an urgent need to address the troubling situation in Gaza. I visited Gaza on 21 August and saw the extent of this firsthand. Ultimately, Hamas' decision to embrace violence and reject the Quartet Principles lies at the heart of the Gazan tragedy. We need a durable agreement that addresses the underlying causes of the conflict and transforms the situation in Gaza.

We welcome the steps that Israel has taken to ease some restrictions. However, we want to see Israel go much further and we are continuing to call on Israel to do so. We continue to stress to the Israeli authorities the damage that their restrictions are doing to the living standards of ordinary Palestinians in Gaza and that supporting legal trade for Gazans is firmly in Israel's long-term interests.