Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect on health outcomes of the time taken to grant exit permits for Palestinians in Gaza seeking medical treatment elsewhere in the Occupied Palestinian Territory or abroad; and if she will make a statement.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently reported that 2017 saw the lowest rate of approvals of security permits for patients wishing to access healthcare outside of Gaza since WHO began monitoring in 2008, with 54% of patient applications approved on time. They report this has resulted in delays in care for patients, with potentially life threatening consequences. We continue to monitor the situation in Gaza closely and call on the Israeli government to ease restrictions further and for Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Egypt to work together to ensure a durable solution for Gaza.