Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about the refusal to allow delegations of British parliamentarians to enter Gaza from Israel since 2009; whether similar requests for entry via Egypt were refused in 2014; and what representations they have made for access in such situations.

We do not hold the details of delegations of British parliamentarians that have been refused permission to enter Gaza from Israel since 2009. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advises against all travel to Gaza. We therefore do not make representations on behalf of parliamentarians wishing to do so.

Our Embassy in Cairo forwarded a request to the Egyptian authorities for a British aid convoy to access Gaza via the Rafah crossing in 2014, after Egypt changed its policy to only considering applications requested by embassy note verbale. The convoy included one or two parliamentarians. The FCO made clear to the organisers that the visit was at their own risk. The Egyptian authorities agreed access for a reduced version of the convoy, but this was shortly before the Rafah crossing was closed indefinitely in October. We understand the convoy did not therefore gain access.