Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the the potential impact of pauses of future funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on stability in the West Bank.

The UK is appalled by allegations that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned. The UK is pausing any future funding of UNRWA whilst we review these concerning allegations.

However, we remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to the those who desperately need it. Our commitment to trebling aid to Gaza still stands.

Regarding the situation in the West Bank, as we have stated we support a two-state solution that guarantees security and stability for both the Israeli and Palestinian people, and the Palestinian Authority has an important long-term role to play. We must work with our allies to provide serious, practical and enduring support needed to bolster the Palestinian Authority. We already provide technical and practical support and are ready to do more. The Palestinian Authority must also take much needed steps to reform, including setting out a pathway to demonstrate progress. Just as the Palestinian Authority must act, so must Israel. This means releasing frozen funds, halting settlement expansion and holding to account those responsible for extremist settler violence.