Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the UK's protected bilateral ODA allocation for Palestine is reaching people in Gaza and the West Bank.

I draw the Hon. Member's attention to the Foreign Secretary's statement on 8 September. We continue to call on the Government of Israel to immediately lift restrictions and allow essential aid including medical supplies and fuel to reach those in desperate need, in line with international humanitarian law and as stipulated in the 20-Point Plan. We have protected our budget for Palestine and will be prioritising health, nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) through our integrated humanitarian programmes. We will continue to raise this with the Government of Israel. I saw our work with the Egyptian Red Crescent directly in Egypt last month, including the wider challenges facing humanitarian assistance to Gaza.