Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 6 January (HL3815), what co-operation they have had from Hamas in the reconstruction of civilian property in Gaza.

UK policy on Hamas is clear: we do not talk to Hamas and we have no plan to do so at present. At the Gaza Reconstruction Conference, the UK pledged £20 million for early recovery assistance. DFID has already disbursed £5 million and will provide the remainder in 2015/16. The UK was also the first donor to support the temporary tri-partite Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM) which is facilitating the import of construction materials into Gaza.