Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the legality under international law and the Geneva Conventions of Israel's current actions in Gaza.

We have been clear that Israel has a right to defend itself. The UN Human Rights Council has set up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate purported violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in the Gaza Strip since the conflict began there on 13 June. We are calling on both sides to cooperate with the Commission of Inquiry, which must itself be independent and balanced in its approach.