I HAVE received a large number of letters and emails about the truly desperate situation in Gaza and what the Government is doing about it.

I think that actions speak louder than words: we are spending £349 million in the occupied Palestinian territories between 2011 and 2015 to bring relief from poverty, good governance and economic development. £30 million per year goes directly into Gaza. In the last few weeks, in response to the unfolding disaster, we have made a further £17 million available. The government will match, pound for pound, the generosity of the British people, up to £2 million, in their response to the Disasters Emergency Appeal that has been launched by UK charities.

UK aid is getting water, food and shelter to families who are suffering, we are getting hospitals up and running to treat the injured and we have supplied £6 million to the UN flash appeal for basics such as shelter and cooking equipment. We have provided the World Food Programme with £3 million to provide emergency rations for 300,000 people for a month. We have given £3 million to the Red Cross to provide emergency healthcare and £3 million through the Rapid Response Facility to provide clean water.

Clearly, when people see dreadful scenes on TV, they want to hear their representatives and their government condemn the perpetrators. I believe that we have done this. The Government’s condemnation of what has occurred was explicit. We have made it absolutely clear to Israel that, whatever the provocation, international law must be complied with, which requires that civilians are not targeted and that humanitarian access must be afforded.

The Government’s objective, however, is to secure a lasting ceasefire, the provision of emergency relief and restarting the peace process: none of which aims will be assisted by “grandstanding”.

The Government aspires to bring both sides to the negotiating table, so we need to maintain a level of trust, which sometimes requires a measured response when we make public statements. We do supply arms to Israel, but only those which can be used for defence. One constituent told me Hamas is essentially an organisation that provides social security and welfare to the impoverished suffering people of Gaza.

This is a million miles from the truth: Hamas is a terrorist organisation dedicated to the complete destruction of Israel. It built a network of tunnels to penetrate Israel in order to facilitate terrorist attacks. It indiscriminately bombards Israel’s cities with hundreds of rockets. It has ruled Gaza with corruption and intimidation.

It deliberately uses the people of Gaza as a human shield for its attacks on Israel by mounting rocket attacks from the vicinity of schools and hospitals. The tragedy of the last few weeks is that the status of the moderate Palestinian leadership has been diminished while that of Hamas has soared.