To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department, (c) officials in his Department, (d) the British Ambassador to Egypt and (e) officials in the British Embassy in Egypt have had since August 2008 with the Government of Egypt on the trafficking of (i) weapons and (ii) people into Gaza from Egypt via under-border tunnels; what response was received in each case; what reports he has received on the number of tunnels between Gaza and Egypt that have been (A) discovered and (B) closed; and if he will make a statement. (227595)

The UK welcomes any appropriate action taken to reduce trafficking of weapons and people into Gaza. Earlier in the year, we pressed Egypt to act on smuggling. But this issue has not been explicitly raised with the Egyptian authorities since August 2008.

Egypt is actively addressing the issue. With the number of tunnels being discovered and closed constantly changing, we are unable to provide a definitive figure, but we continue to monitor the situation.