Michael Connarty
Labour Member of UK Parliament - Linlithgow and East Falkirk Constituency
Basic right to clean water denied in Gaza
6. Michael Connarty (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (Lab): What plans he has to visit Palestine to assess the humanitarian situation. [76683]
The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Mr Alan Duncan): I visited the west bank in July and saw at first hand the difficulties faced by Palestinians, particularly in Area C. The Secretary of State is keen to visit when his schedule permits.
Michael Connarty: I am grateful for that positive response from the Minister. I am sure that, like me, he reads the reports of the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs occupied Palestinian territory, which I believe every Member should look at regularly. Some 90% of the water in the aquifer in Gaza is undrinkable, while up to 80 million litres of raw or partly treated sewage is going into the sea, and the Israeli authorities have just bulldozed six wells on the west bank. Surely nothing can be more pressing than a man-made humanitarian disaster on this scale. We must take positive action, and the Secretary of State must go and see it for himself.
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