UK Parliament question(s) of interest to you have received answers as follows

Commons answers:

Department for International Development (Gaza: Export Controls)

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make an assessment of the humanitarian effect of ending restrictions on exports out of Gaza; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne:

An improved economy is not only essential for the people of Gaza, but firmly in Israel’s security interests. We have consistently called on Israel to improve movement and access into and out of Gaza.

Department for International Development (Occupied Territories)

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Mr Desmond Swayne:

The UN assesses that the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is a protracted crisis with humanitarian consequences. UK aid is helping the Palestinian Authority to develop strong institutions, deliver essential public services and improve security.

DFID is providing £349 million in support of Palestinian development from 2011-15 and £72m for 2015/16. The UK was one of the biggest donors to the crisis last summer, providing more than £17 million in immediate humanitarian assistance for those caught up in the conflict. In October, the UK pledged a further £20 million in early recovery assistance at the Gaza Reconstruction Conference in Cairo.