Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Alistair Burt, Minister of State for the Middle East at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office: The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan assessed that 1.1 million of Gaza’s population and 0.5 million in the West Bank are acutely vulnerable and in need of humanitarian assistance in 2017; and report that a lack of funding for water, sanitation and hygiene interventions have left 1.45 million Gazans at risk of waterborne diseases.

I visited Gaza and the West Bank in August and saw the extent of the humanitarian situation first hand. The UK is supporting approximately 1 million Gazans by addressing critical water, sanitation and hygiene needs through the United Nations Children’s Fund. The UK is also a long-term supporter of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, which provides basic services to people across Gaza and the West Bank, including basic health care.

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