Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Andy Slaughter

Wednesday 3rd June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Swayne]

I assure my hon. Friend that no UK payments are made for that purpose. Our support to the Palestinian Authority is paid through a World Bank-controlled trust fund to named civil servants and then independently audited.

[Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab)]

More Palestinian civilians were killed last year than in any year since 1967, and the crisis gets worse and worse in the occupied territories, especially in Gaza. I see today that the Foreign Office has called for the Rafah crossing into Egypt to be opened, but what are Ministers doing to ensure that the goods and passenger crossings into Israel are opened? What pressure is DFID putting on the Israeli Government to do that?

[Mr Swayne]

We make representations at every level all the time to enable goods and services to be exported into and out of Gaza. There can be no future for Gaza until there is a complete transformation in that process, and for that to proceed, a peace process is required.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Andy Slaughter

Wednesday 18th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Swayne]

As of this morning, more than 60,000 individuals have had access to building materials, out of the in excess of 100,000 who need such materials. I am confident that the mechanism is working effectively, but clearly there will have to be a step change in movement and access which can result only from a lasting solution.

[Mr Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab)]

Israel will have a Government opposed to a two-state solution and a Prime Minister who turned out his vote by an emergency broadcast that said:

“Arab voters are heading to the polling stations in droves.”

What is the international community going to do to get aid to Gaza, which is in occupation and under siege? How is the international community going to provide that aid when the occupation and siege are permanent?