Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations his Department has made to Israel about compliance with the provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice in the case of the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip .

It is the UK Government's long-standing policy that any determination of genocide is a matter for a competent national or international court, and not for governments or non-judicial bodies. This approach ensures that any determination is above politics, lobbying and individual or national interest. The recent Provisional Measures Order was an interim order, intended to preserve the rights of the parties pending consideration of the legal arguments and evidence. The UK respects the independence of the International Court of Justice and awaits its decision.