Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the human rights implications of travel permit restrictions between Israel and (a) Gaza and (b) all other areas in the Occupied Palestinian Territories which result in parents being separated from their children while their children are in medical care.

The British Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the matter of medical permits with the Israeli authorities. Israeli restrictions severely restrict the movement of medical professionals, patients and families from Gaza, hampering the provision of quality health services, as well as impacting Palestinians in the West Bank. The situation in Gaza is particularly acute, and is compounded by frequent closure by Egypt of the Rafah crossing, preventing urgent medical cases from seeking treatment in Egypt. We are clear that Israel's occupation of Gaza is not sustainable. That is why we need a lasting peace agreement which ensures that all those who are in need of medical attention and their families have unimpeded access to healthcare provisions.