Gaza: Israel

(asked on 26th January 2024) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the International Court of Justice’s decision on the request for provisional measures in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel), what diplomatic steps he plans to take to encourage political dialogue on the crisis in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.


Answered by
Andrew Mitchell Portrait
Andrew Mitchell
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
This question was answered on 8th February 2024

We want to see an end to the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible. We are calling for an immediate pause to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life. These are the vital steps:

· the release of all Israeli hostages

· the formation of a new Palestinian Government for the West Bank and Gaza, accompanied by an international support package

· a political horizon which provides a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution

· removing Hamas's capacity to launch attacks against Israel

· Hamas no longer in charge of Gaza.

The Foreign Secretary has reiterated these messages in his contacts with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other senior Israeli political leaders, including during the Foreign Secretary's visit to Israel on 24 January. We need to generate momentum now towards a permanent peace. That is why we are pressing for a Contact Group, bringing together the key players, to be set up at once.

Reticulating Splines