Responding to Andy McDonald's concerns, Anneliese Dodds confirmed that the UK is clear in its opposition to forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza and supports their right to return home and rebuild. She reiterated that UNRWA must continue operating in Gaza and on the West Bank for Palestinian refugees. Dodds emphasized the importance of de-escalation following recent developments, especially concerning the situation in Jenin. Regarding recognition of a Palestinian state, she affirmed that Palestinians have the right to their own sovereign state and the UK is determined to work towards this goal at an appropriate time conducive to achieving a two-state solution.

I am grateful to the right hon. Lady for all her questions. The Government is working closely with partners to push for humanitarian access and support hostage releases as per the agreement phases. UNRWA has been called upon for independent investigation of misuse allegations, and we continue to work with them to ensure thorough investigations and necessary changes are made. UK aid turnaround times have improved but commercial shipments need to be enabled quickly for food supplies; we monitor distribution closely through trusted partners including UN agencies. We need access for tents, shelter, medical supplies among others due to destruction in water and sanitation areas.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this issue. The UK is concerned about the situation in Jenin, which we continue to monitor carefully. We called on Israel at the UN Security Council meeting on 18 December to stop illegal settlement expansion on Palestinian land and are considering all options for further action.

This is a critical issue. Of course, we need the ceasefire to be held to. As I said, we have to move through phase 1 to phases 2 and 3, but we also need to ensure that there is day-after-next-phase planning in Gaza, so that we can see the building up of Gaza’s governance and security institutions and, of course, infrastructure. We are clear that Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction must be Palestinian-led. We have supported the Palestinian Authority in particular on this. I am very proud that UK expertise has been supporting that work, so that this important reconstruction can continue at the required pace and scale.

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for underlining Egypt’s role in this incredibly difficult humanitarian situation, and particularly in relation to medical evacuees from Gaza. He is also right to underline that Egypt is now housing many refugees from Sudan too. I reassure the right hon. Gentleman that the UK is seeking to work with Egypt. We have supported the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population with £1 million, delivered through WHO Egypt, to support medically evacuated Palestinians from Gaza. We are exploring further support for the Egyptian system, which is gearing up to receive large numbers of medical evacuees.

I believe it has been incredibly important for the UK to engage diplomatically in relation to this conflict. It is absolutely right that we have sought to work with partners on these issues, that we have supported statements within the UN Security Council, that we have worked with partners in the region, that we have sought to achieve change, and that we sought to ensure the ceasefire was agreed.

As the right hon. Member is aware and as we have discussed previously, this UK Government have taken a different approach from the previous Government on matters of accountability. We were very clear that the UK’s arms export regime had to be held to and operated in line with international humanitarian law. That underwrote the decisions we took in the autumn: we said we would examine that regime and deliver on it, and we examined that regime and suspended a number of licences.

Anneliese Dodds confirmed that the UK has an unshakable policy on the right of return and the rebuilding of homes and lives. She reiterated that the UK's commitment to international law is clear, as restated by the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary.

Dodds stated that her party and the Government are determined to return to spending 0.7% of GNI on overseas development as fiscal circumstances allow. She emphasized the importance of playing a part in humanitarian questions and working in partnership with other countries.

Dodds acknowledged Dr Ahmed's concern regarding the medical expertise and the impact on children. She stated that the UK has been acting to ensure support for these vulnerable children, engaging in urgent discussions with partners to address psychosocial trauma.

Dodds shared the hon. Member's concern and emphasized that the UK Government has been clear that Hamas must not be involved in future governance arrangements. She highlighted the support provided to the Palestinian Authority through reform programs and reconstruction efforts.

Dodds stated that the UK has been investing in the ceasefire, announcing additional humanitarian support for essential services. She highlighted a phased approach towards reconstruction and ultimately achieving a two-state solution.

Dodds reiterated the UK’s decisions that differ from previous governments, including clear stances on international legal bodies’ jurisdiction. She highlighted efforts like removing UNWRA funding bans and supporting moves at the UN Security Council towards a two-state solution.

My hon. Friend will be aware that the UK has imposed—I believe it was in the autumn—sanctions against those who had engaged in and promoted violence as settlers. We condemn that activity and believe that it reduces the prospect of a two-state solution. Of course, for me to talk about future sanctions designations from the Dispatch Box would reduce their efficacy, and therefore I will not do that here.

I am grateful to the right hon. Member for his comments. The UK Government are clear that Iran has long destabilised the middle east. That has obviously been done through military means, but it has also given financial and political support to its proxies and partners, including Iranian-aligned militia groups in Iraq and Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, which he mentioned, and the Houthis in Yemen. We will continue to work with international partners to encourage de-escalation. Long-term peace and security in the middle east cannot be achieved without addressing Iran’s destabilising activity—the UK Government are clear on that.

On my hon. Friend’s question about forced displacement, I was very clear earlier about the fact that the UK Government are absolutely determined to ensure that there is not forced displacement. That would be contrary to international law. Gazans must be allowed home and, in the words of the Prime Minister himself,
“must be allowed to rebuild”.—[Official Report, 5 February 2025; Vol. 761, c. 745.] My hon. Friend asked about the situation in relation to arms exports. He will be aware that on 2 September we suspended a number of export licences to Israel for use in military operations in Gaza, and I refer him to my previous response on sanctions designations.

As I mentioned just a few seconds ago, we have been clear that any attempt to prevent Gazans from returning home to their communities, and to suggest that they must remain and be housed in other Arab states, would be contrary to international law. I am sure that the hon. Lady understands that. Not only has she heard me say it, but she heard the Prime Minister say it yesterday, and the Foreign Secretary has said it many times. The hon. Lady asks about our approach to recognition. I agree with her that the lever of recognition is important and will be crucial for the two-state solution, which will be so important to peace in the region. That is why the UK is so carefully considering how we go about that; we know that ultimately both Israelis and Palestinians have the right to live in sovereign states, in security, and we will ensure that our actions are as strong as possible to get us to that outcome.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for what he said about the clarity of the UK’s position. I know that he and many others in the Chamber are passionate about peacebuilding. That is an area in which the UK has a certain amount of expertise, derived from those who have been peacebuilding in Northern Ireland and other contexts, and it is important that we seek to contribute to it. Of course, the most urgent thing is to ensure that the ceasefire is held to and that we move from phase 1 to phase 2 to phrase 3. Of course, in future it will be important to do what we can to contribute to peacebuilding. He is right about the Prime Minister’s announcement; we are right now considering how we can ensure that that is delivered.

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman’s constituent for raising that important issue, which many Members and the general public are concerned about, as he says. As he rightly states, the UK Government have raised that issue with Israeli counterparts. We are concerned about the situation. We believe that there needs to be clarity on why any individuals, including medical staff, are being held. It is also crucial that the Red Cross is able to visit those who have been detained. We have made that point very forcefully.

We are deeply concerned by the intensity of IDF military operations in the west bank, as well as by attacks from Palestinian militants. We recognise Israel’s need to defend itself against security threats, but we are deeply worried about the methods that Israel has employed and about reports of civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure. We are clear that it is in no one’s interest to see further conflict and instability.

I want to underline to the hon. Lady that, as we have made very clear, Palestinian statehood is the right of the Palestinian people—it is not in the gift of any neighbour—and is essential to the long-term security of Israel as well. The UK is working with partners to support a path to long-term peace and stability with a two-state solution. We condemn all forms of abuse, including antisemitism, Islamophobia, and hate crimes.

We are very clear that Israeli efforts to undermine a two-state solution through settlement building, settler violence and punitive economic measures are unacceptable. We are aware that settlement expansion reached record levels in the past year, which was very disturbing, and of course it has been accompanied by an increase in settler violence. Our position on this issue has been clear: settlements are illegal under international law; they present an obstacle to peace and threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising the issue of the role that the UK can play in the recovery and rebuilding of Gaza. As I mentioned, we have been working with a range of partners on that issue, seeking to support the Palestinian Authority and contributing experts to their endeavours. We are looking very closely at the World Bank’s updated damage assessment and will seek to work with the World Bank and other partners.

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his words, and for making it clear that the UK Government do indeed support a rules-based international order. That is critical to international law, including international humanitarian law, as we have been discussing. We will continue to hold to this position, including within the UN and with all of our partners.

That protection is critical at every stage. The UK Government have been absolutely clear that we have seen far too much death and destruction in Gaza—we are now seeing truly heart-rending scenes of people trying to return to communities that have been destroyed, and we have seen over 46,000 people being killed. That population requires our support, and I do not believe that is contingent on political circumstances.

As I stated in response to the question from the hon. Member for Ceredigion Preseli, the UK has been and will continue to be an advocate for the international rules-based order, which is incredibly important. We need to see those rules upheld by all, and of course we will continue to advocate for that at the UN in relation to all countries. I agree with the hon. Member about the horrendous situation so many Gazans are facing.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for asking me to confirm that it will be for the Palestinian people to determine the future of Gaza, and absolutely, we have been a crystal clear on that. Indeed, as I stated previously, we have been working with the Palestinian Authority on this.

I am sure that Members across the House want to ensure that there is an economically viable situation in Gaza in the future. That is one of the many reasons why commercial operations have to be allowed to resume, and it is really important that the Government of Israel enable that. We need a situation of security and sovereignty for Gazans and all Palestinians as well as Israelis.

My hon. Friend is right to refer to the levels of displacement. As I said previously, 90% of the population of Gaza has been displaced, some two or three times, and some up to nine times. When we consider the impact on whole families of having to move so many times, I am sure we are all disturbed by that. She is right to say that timing is important—which is why the UK Government are considering this so carefully.

My hon. Friend is right; Gaza’s recovery needs will be vast, and they are extremely serious. The UK is engaged with partners on assessing those needs, and working together so that we can ensure that the unprecedented scale of destruction in Gaza is remediated. We continue to work with partners on this, and the UK Government’s position on UNWRA has been articulated a number of times from this Dispatch Box: we believe that it must be able to continue to operate.

Yes, and having seen that activity for myself, with the impact it has had on Palestinians and their families, the violence that has often accompanied it, and the economic damage it has done, I am well convinced of that, as indeed the UK Government have been—they have stated that many times.