Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to help ensure guarantees that Palestinians forced to flee from Gaza will not be permanently displaced.

The UK's priority right now is alleviating the humanitarian situation given UN assessments that 2.3 million people in Gaza need access to food and water. However, we will continue to engage closely with our partners across the region, internationally, and with the UN on critical issues relating to the safety of Palestinians and on the future of Gaza. Our longstanding position on the Middle East Peace Process is clear: we support a negotiated settlement leading to a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state: any forced displacement is incompatible with this, and the Prime Minister and former Foreign Secretary have raised this with Israeli counterparts. The UK also agrees with the US that a long-term presence of Israeli security forces within Gaza would not be a good outcome for either Israelis or Palestinians and the Prime Minister has made clear that we must provide the serious, practical, and enduring support needed to bolster the Palestinian Authority.