Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to avert a regional escalation of the hostilities in Israel and Gaza.

Since Hamas' abhorrent terrorist attacks on 7 October, the Prime Minister, the former Foreign Secretary and myself as Minister of State; Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, have all visited the region and spoken to counterparts from more than 20 countries as part of extensive diplomatic efforts to prevent regional escalation and to sustain the prospect of peace and stability in the Middle East. This includes the former Foreign Secretary's travel to the region in October where he met leaders in Egypt, Turkey and Qatar, his calls with counterparts from Jordan, Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Brazil, and Australia and his meetings with regional counterparts in Riyadh on 9 November.

The UK is seized with the increasing the scale and delivery of life saving humanitarian aid to Gaza and continues to work with our regional partners on preventing the conflict spreading in the region, and oppose any attempts by malign actors to cause further escalation. As part of our close engagement with Israel, the UK has urged the government to take tangible steps to stop settler violence against Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank, which we strongly condemn. We are also clear that to prevent further conflict and terrorism, there must be a political solution to the conflict: the delivery of a two-state solution which provides justice and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.