Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism; and whether the UK Government provides funding for that mechanism.

The Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM), is a temporary mechanism to allow the entry into Gaza of large amounts of materials considered by Israel to have 'dual-use' civil and military capacity. We consider the GRM has been successful in facilitating reconstruction since the last conflict in 2014. As of 31 March 2021, 9,887 out of 11,000 totally damaged houses had been rebuilt, as well as over 88,000 homes with major or minor damage, indicating reconstruction of homes was in its final stage. In the long term, a more comprehensive lifting of restrictions as part of a political agreement is the only solution.

Since the establishment of the GRM in October 2014, the UK has provided a total of £2.5m in funding. The UK will continue to urge the parties to prioritise progress towards reaching a durable solution for Gaza and to take the necessary practical steps to ensure Gaza's reconstruction and economic recovery.