Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the 12 December 2023 United Nations General Assembly resolution on Israel-Palestine.

As our Ambassador to the UN has said, we are gravely concerned about the desperate situation in Gaza. The scale of civilian deaths and displacement in Gaza cannot continue. As the Prime Minister said, no one wants to see this conflict go on a moment longer than necessary. We urgently need more humanitarian pauses, to get all the hostages out and life-saving aid into Gaza to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people. We of course want to see a peaceful resolution to the conflict, which means supporting a sustainable ceasefire. Long-term peace in the Middle East requires a viable two-state solution, and leaving Hamas in power in Gaza would be a permanent roadblock on the path to this; Israel cannot be expected to live alongside a terrorist organisation committed to its destruction, dedicated to repeating the attacks. Along with our partners, the UK will redouble our efforts to find a pathway to achieve two states for two peoples.