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Gaza

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush (Mr. Slaughter) and thank him for bringing us together to debate UK aid to Gaza, and for his extremely valuable insights on the humanitarian situation there, following his recent visit along with our hon. Friends. I enjoy reading his blog and the Gaza diary on his website, which gave an accurate reflection of his visit. I welcome the other colleagues who were also present at the last Westminster Hall debate on aid to Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories, which took place in January. I pay tribute to their commitment and dedication to the issue. I am pleased to have the opportunity to update the House on this important subject and on the events that have taken place since that debate. As my hon. Friend so graphically described, the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains extremely grave. Some 1.4 million people—that is, nearly the entire population—still depend on some form of humanitarian aid. Scheduled power cuts of six to eight hours occur in most of Gaza every few days, and unscheduled power cuts continue. Some 50,000 people are without running water, and a further 100,000 receive running water in their homes only every seven to 10 days. About 21,000 homes were destroyed or badly damaged during the conflict. The United Kingdom focuses on alleviating suffering and helping to rebuild the lives of those devastated by the conflict. As hon. Members will be aware, the UK has pledged nearly £27 million for the relief effort in Gaza. Of that, we have spent more than £15 million. When I last spoke to the House on the issue, I explained how the UK was rapidly spending the money that it had pledged, including funding for the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross and non-governmental organisations, which are providing food, shelter, safe drinking water and medical treatment, as well as providing for the clearance of unexploded ordnance. Since that debate, new commitments have included almost £1 million to Mercy Corps to provide shelter and emotional support to children and young people traumatised by the conflict; more than £660,000 to Islamic Relief for psychosocial support, house repair and emergency school rehabilitation; more than £420,000 to Handicap International to provide emergency medical care for 21,000 extremely vulnerable people; £340,000 to UNICEF to co-ordinate the effective provision of emergency water and sanitation; and £15 million to the World Food Programme for distribution of food vouchers. I am pleased to report that the money provided by the UK is having an impact on the ground. For example, our funding to Oxfam has helped to provide tens of thousands of ordinary people in Gaza with essentials. Every day, Oxfam water tankers distribute drinking water to as many as 60,000 people in the worst affected parts of north Gaza, and since the end of January, Oxfam has provided hygiene kits to 2,100 families. Our funding has helped Handicap International to open three new support centres in Gaza where people with injuries and disabilities can go for treatment. Handicap International has also provided four hospitals with 71 pieces of equipment—including wheelchairs, crutches and walking frames—to help those with injuries. The contribution of the Department for International Development to the Mines Advisory Group has helped it to clear unexploded ordnance from all United Nations Relief and Works Agency schools, allowing 220,000 children to return to school. Those are only a few examples of the difference that UK aid is making to the lives of ordinary Gazans. None the less, there are still many more people to reach. If humanitarian workers do not have adequate relief items, safety and access to those whom they need to reach, they cannot do their job. The issue of access was raised in the previous debate and by my hon. Friend in this debate. I remind the House that it was a problem long before the current crisis. It is imperative that action be taken. The borders must be opened. We need to find a solution urgently so that Palestinians living in Gaza can get the help that they need in a way that also addresses Israel's security concerns. Access for people and humanitarian supplies must be increased to meet the genuine humanitarian needs of the people in Gaza. The UN has said that only 20 to 25 types of relief item are getting into Gaza, out of 4,000 different items needed. Items turned away include school textbooks, dates, plastic bags used by the UN to distribute food aid and even equipment used to store medical vaccines. In addition, the UN estimates that 450,000 litres of fuel are needed daily to operate the Gaza power plant at full capacity. The Israeli Supreme Court has ruled the daily humanitarian minimum to be 314,000 litres, yet since the ceasefire, only about 260,000 litres have entered Gaza, resulting in continuing scheduled and unscheduled power cuts. Access for humanitarian personnel is also problematic, as my hon. Friend has highlighted in his comments and on his blog, although there is some anecdotal evidence that the situation is improving. However, since the cessation of hostilities, the Israeli authorities have allowed only limited numbers of international aid workers into Gaza. Of 178 requests to enter Gaza submitted by international NGO staff members in January, only 18 staff members were allowed in by the end of the month. We are continuing to press at the highest levels for increased access. During my visit to the region last month, I spoke with Isaac Herzog, the Israeli Minister responsible for co-ordinating the relief effort, and pressed for increased access. That led to a public Israeli commitment to facilitate access for 500 aid trucks a day in the near future. The Foreign Secretary has also discussed access with Israeli Foreign Minister Livni, and our Prime Minister has written to the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, on the same matter. We are in regular discussions with our partners in the US and UN on how access can be improved. It will be vital to see progress on the issue before the international conference on Gaza reconstruction takes place next week in Sharm el-Sheikh. To address my hon. Friend's point about tunnels and access, we have made it clear to Israel that closing the tunnels without opening the crossings will do nothing to help Israel's security concerns about arms smuggling through the tunnel regions. We have also made it clear that the opening of the Karni crossing point, with its conveyor facility, is vital to allowing wheat flour across in sufficient volumes to meet the staple food requirements of the people in Gaza. How we take forward the reconstruction of Gaza is critical. Fully rebuilding Gaza will take time, money and commitment from everyone involved. It will also take courage on the part of the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships. The first stage of the process is early recovery, which includes rehabilitating water supplies and sewage facilities, repairing and reopening schools, and moving people from tents to permanent housing. The Palestinian Authority estimates that that will cost $1 billion. The international conference that I mentioned will be a first and welcome chance for donors to discuss the opportunities and challenges for an early recovery programme and, importantly, to make their pledges. In the longer term, full reconstruction will be needed. The World Bank, the European Community and the UN will take the lead on a full needs assessment in Gaza, working closely with the Palestinian Authority. Donors will need to provide funding. We would, of course, welcome an Israeli contribution to reconstruction in Gaza. On the breach of international humanitarian law, I remind my hon. Friend that the UN Human Rights Council, in its resolution of 12 January, decided to send an international fact-finding mission to investigate violations of human rights law and international humanitarian law by Israel in Gaza. We will consider the results carefully—