Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of  the (1) physical, and (2) economic, risks to (a) farmers, and (b) fishermen, in Gaza of the extent of the buffer zones in Gaza being changed by the government of Israel.

The UK remains concerned about the use of live ammunition and excessive force by the Israel Defense Forces. While Israel has the right to self-defence, it is vital that its actions are proportionate and seek to avoid civilian casualties. We regularly raise with the Government of Israel the urgent need to ease all access and movement restrictions on Gaza, including agriculture and fishing limits. This would help to restore the agricultural and fishing industries as regular alterations to the zone, often as a punitive measure, cause uncertainty and insecurity. The UK would like to see a permanent increase in the size of the fishing zone off the coast of Gaza in line with the limit of 20 nautical miles stipulated in the Oslo accords. We continue to stress to the Israeli authorities the damage that their restrictions on movement, access and trade are doing to the living standards of ordinary Palestinians in Gaza and that supporting legal trade for Gazans is firmly in Israel's long-term interests.