Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the compatibility with international law of (a) Israeli naval operations off the coast of Gaza and (b) that country's naval blockade there.

​We consider that the level of control that Israel retains over Gaza amounts to occupation under international law and hence that Israel’s conduct is governed by the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, to which Israel is a state party. In line with these provisions the UK continues to call on the Government of Israel to ease movement and access restrictions into and out of Gaza. British officials encouraged an easing of restrictions and improvement in the humanitarian situation in Gaza at the Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee on 20 March.