Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many British UNRWA workers were expelled as a result of the Israeli legislation enforced on 30 January 2025.

The United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has not released data on the nationality of international staff members who left the Occupied Palestinian Territories as a result of Israeli legislation which came into force on 30 January. The UK remains opposed to the legislation; the vital work of UNRWA in ensuring that Palestinians have access to education and healthcare must be protected in Gaza as well as the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The UK continues to lead international action to press for a resolution to this urgent issue. On 31 January we joined with Germany and France to call on Israel to abide by its international obligations and live up to its responsibility to ensure full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance and the provision of basic services to the civilian population.