It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Rees. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hall Green (Tahir Ali) for securing this important debate. The Minister for the Middle East and North Africa would have liked to take part in this debate, but he is currently representing the UK at the ad hoc liaison committee in Oslo, where he is meeting the Palestinian Prime Minister and the Israeli Minister for Regional Cooperation, as well as the Egyptian and Jordanian Foreign Ministers. The UK's position on the middle east peace process is long standing and well known, supporting a negotiated settlement leading to a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as a shared capital. We condemn Hamas's indiscriminate rocket attacks, but Israel does have a legitimate right to self-defence; however, all actions must be proportionate and in line with international humanitarian law. The UK remains resolute in its commitment to Israel's security. Goods imported from the settlements are not permitted to benefit from trade preferences under the UK-Israel trade and partnership agreement. We remain concerned about the ongoing humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which was further exacerbated by the recent conflict and damage to civilian infrastructure. The UK is contributing £3.5 million to the emergency appeal in May to meet the immediate needs of Palestinians in Gaza who were affected by the conflict at that time. We urge access into and out of Gaza for humanitarian actors, reconstruction materials, and those travelling for medical purposes. We also make it clear to Israel that human rights and civil society organisations have a vital role to play in developing thriving and open societies.