Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what contribution his Department made to the Egyptian-mediated negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians on achieving a sustainable ceasefire.

The Government has worked hard with our international partners to help bring about a sustainable ceasefire – and we warmly welcome the agreement reached in Cairo for a ceasefire. We pay tribute to the Government of Egypt for their work in securing this important step and we continue to monitor the situation closely.

The ceasefire provides the space for reaching a comprehensive agreement that tackles the underlying causes of the conflict. We are urging the parties to now quickly resume negotiations to that end.

The UK will do all it can in the UN to support efforts to create a ceasefire which is sustainable and durable. We are currently working on a UNSCR in New York to that end.