Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March to Question 34309, when he last raised the destruction of (a) schools and (b) higher education facilities in Gaza with his Israeli counterparts.

The Foreign Secretary continues to raise concern at continued Israeli operations in Gaza, including the need for protection of schools and higher education facilities, with his Israeli counterparts. Children's access to education must continue uninterrupted. The UK Government have announced £41 million for United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) this financial year, which is supporting the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and Palestinian refugees in the region. Furthermore, UK support has given 14,000 children access to education materials and welfare support.

In East Jerusalem the Israeli order to close schools and the immediate evacuation of the Kalandia Training Centre is deeply worrying. The vital work of UNRWA in ensuring that Palestinians have access to education and healthcare must be protected in Gaza as well as the West Bank and East Jerusalem.