Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to paragraph 44 of the summary grounds of the Secretary of State in the case of The King (on the application of Al-Haq) v. Secretary of State for Business and Trade, AC-2023-LON-003634, for what reason the assessment on Israel's commitment to comply with international humanitarian law was deferred for ministerial decision.

We regularly review advice about Israel's capability and commitment to International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and act in accordance with that advice. As the Foreign Secretary has said, Israel has the capability and commitment to act within IHL, but we are also deeply concerned about the impact on the civilian population in Gaza. We continue to call for IHL to be respected and civilians to be protected. The Foreign Secretary stressed this with Israeli political leaders in his visit of 24 January.