Written questions by Ward.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Israeli counterpart on access to Gaza for a) Palestinian doctors and b) international doctors.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement to the House I made on 5 January, and to the joint statement issued by the Foreign Secretary and several of her counterparts on 30 December, available on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jointstatementon-the-gaza-humanitarian-response.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Israeli counterpart on the opening of a humanitarian corridor between Gaza and the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement to the House I made on 5 January, and to the joint statement issued by the Foreign Secretary and several of her counterparts on 30 December, available on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jointstatementon-the-gaza-humanitarian-response.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department's Mass Atrocity Prevention Hub for supporting the UK’s response to the situation in El Fasher, Darfur.

The Mass Atrocity Hub is now part of The Conflict and Atrocity Prevention Department, which has been working closely with the Africa Directorate and British Office Sudan since April 2023. Support has included assessing the risk of atrocities in Sudan, providing analytical capabilities to collect, verify and preserve open-source data relating to potential atrocity crimes and violations of international humanitarian law, as well as technical advisory support on the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's atrocity prevention and response workstreams.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on restarting civil-military cooperation with UNRWA.

The UK has repeatedly set out our grave concern about the Government of Israel's legislation on the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and our support for UNRWA's vital work to provide essential services and humanitarian assistance in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. On 31 January, together with France and Germany, we shared our grave concern regarding the Government of Israel's implementation of UNRWA legislation and called on Israel to abide by its international obligations and responsibility to ensure full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance and the provision of basic services to the civilian population. The Foreign Secretary continues to raise these issues with Israeli counterparts and discussed this with the UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, on 14 March.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Israel on the arrest and detention of (a) Mahmoud Muna and (b) Ahmad Muna.

We are concerned by reports of the detention of Mahmoud and Ahmad Muna by the Israeli authorities. Our Ambassador in Tel Aviv, and the British Consulate General in Jerusalem, tweeted to express concern at the police raid, and to reiterate our support for freedom of expression as a fundamental right. We continue to call on Israeli authorities to exercise restraint and adhere to international law.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the Israeli government on the attack on Balata refugee camp in December 2024.

The Foreign Secretary has regularly raised issues of International Humanitarian Law compliance with the Israeli Government. Stability in the West Bank is crucial to ensure that the fragile ceasefire in Gaza can last. All sides should work to ensure a lowering of tension in the West Bank at this time. The ceasefire marks the first step in ensuring long-term peace and security for Israelis, Palestinians, and the wider region, bringing much-needed stability. Our attention must turn to how we secure a permanently better future for the Israeli and Palestinian people - grounded in a two-state solution that will guarantee security and stability for Israel, alongside a sovereign and viable Palestine state.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to support a cessation of military action in the north of Gaza.

The Foreign Secretary spoke to his Israeli counterpart most recently on 27 October, and reiterated that Israel must do much more to bring about an end to hostilities and get aid into Gaza. A political resolution has been a priority of this Government since day one. We have continued to use all diplomatic avenues to push for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, the upholding of international humanitarian law, protection of civilians including a rapid increase of aid into Gaza, respect for the UN mandate in Gaza, greater stability across the West Bank and a pathway to a two-state solution. We welcome news of the resumption of hostage talks in Doha, and we support the efforts of the US, Egyptian and Qatari negotiators.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Israeli legislation in relation to UNRWA on (a) his Department’s policies and (b) the provision of UK aid to the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have expressed serious concern at the UNRWA bills that Israel's Knesset has now passed. This legislation risks making UNRWA's essential work for Palestinians impossible, jeopardising the entire international humanitarian response in Gaza and delivery of essential health and education services in the West Bank. The UK and six allies issued a joint statement on 27 October expressing our grave concern and urging Israel to ensure UNRWA can continue its lifesaving work. The Foreign Secretary reiterated this to Israel's Foreign Minister Katz on 27 October. We will continue working with our international partners and through the UN to press Israel to ensure that UNRWA can continue its vital operations.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the possibility of arms supplied from the UK to Israel being used to be used to (a) commit and (b) facilitate serious violations of International humanitarian law in (i) the West Bank and (ii) Lebanon.

The UK's robust export licensing criteria state that the Government will not issue export licences if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of International Humanitarian Law. Following the Government's decision on 2 September to suspend certain arms export licences to Israel for use in Gaza, there are currently no extant licences that we assess are for use in Lebanon or the West Bank, apart from the licences for the F-35 components which were exempted. We are clear that International Humanitarian Law must be upheld, and civilians protected.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to develop a new national strategy on atrocity prevention

The FCDO supports a comprehensive approach to mass atrocity prevention. However, we have no plans to develop a new national strategy at this time. Since 2022, the FCDO's conflict directorate has been strengthening monitoring capabilities to identify and escalate atrocity risks before they occur. We will continue to develop our capacity to respond to atrocity risks, drawing on expertise across HMG and beyond, including from civil society, academia and cooperation with bilateral partners and multilateral organisations.