Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has had recent discussions on the reconstruction of Gaza as part of a peace process.

Alleviating the immediate suffering in Gaza is a top UK priority. To date, we have delivered over 74 tonnes of aid ourselves and are now providing £60 million in humanitarian assistance, but there is still more to do. We continue to press the UN and Israel for unhindered humanitarian access and substantive, repeated humanitarian pauses. We are also pressing for an increase in types of humanitarian items allowed in, including fuel, shelter and public health/sanitation items. Ultimately, there must be a long-term political solution; a two-state solution which provides justice and security for both Israelis and Palestinians. We believe that Gaza should ultimately be under Palestinian control and that the Palestinian Authority has an important long-term role to play, as the Prime Minister has discussed with President Abbas. As the Foreign Secretary said on 7 December, we must work with our allies to build up the Palestinian Authority, so that we can see a move towards a peaceful Palestinian leadership as soon as is practicable.