Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they plan to take to involve Hamas in future negotiations with Israel.

We welcome the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) return to Gaza on 2 October and the agreement to allow the PA to resume administrative control. However the Government has no plans to take any action to involve Hamas in future negotiations. Our policy on Hamas remains clear: they must renounce violence, recognise Israel and accept previously signed agreements. We now expect to see credible movement towards these conditions, which remain the benchmark against which its intentions should be judged. Ultimately we believe that peace will only come through negotiations between the parties involved.