asked Her Majesty's Government:

What representations they have made to the Government of Israel about the estimated 280 Palestinian civilians allegedly killed by illegal military incursions in the Gaza Strip since the end of fighting in the Lebanon. [HL159]

We remain deeply concerned about casualties, civilian suffering and the Israeli Defence Force’s military actions in Gaza and have repeatedly made our concerns clear to the Government of Israel. Our ambassador in Tel Aviv last raised our concerns on 15 November. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary issued a statement on 8 November expressing her concerns about the incident at Beit Hanoun. The text of this statement can be found on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=Open Market/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007 029391629&a=KArticle&aid=1161595533459%20 &year=2006&month=2006-11-01&date=2006-11-08.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What representations they have made to the Palestinian Authority about the Israeli civilian allegedly killed by illegal rocket discharges from the Gaza Strip since the end of the fighting in the Lebanon. [HL160]

We remain concerned about the continuing Qassam rocket fire from Gaza on Israeli civilian targets. We have called on the Palestinian Authority to prevent all terrorist attacks, including these rocket attacks. We welcome the call by Palestinian President Abbas for rocket attacks from Gaza to stop. Our consulate-general in Jerusalem continues to make our concerns clear on this issue. My right honourable friend the Prime Minister discussed the issue of Qassam rockets with Palestinian President Abbas on 10 September.