British Minister's hope for Gazans

Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt says the people of Gaza deserve a better future, after visiting the West Bank and Jerusalem. Burt met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad in Ramallah to discuss the conflict in Gaza and southern Israel. He pledged £20 million of planned support for the UN Relief and Works Agency, including £10m which has been brought forward to allow the Agency to maintain the provision of essential services to the refugee population, including those in Gaza. Speaking to reporters, the minister said: "The violence has to stop as quickly as possible. We continue to call on Hamas  to stop its rocket attacks on Israel. We also urge Israel to de-escalate the situation. We need an agreed ceasefire as soon as possible, and we stand strongly behind the Egyptian efforts to achieve this. The people of Gaza deserve a better future." Burt also offered his condolences over the phone to Sahar Dalu in Gaza City. Her grandfather and 10 other family members were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday. “Only a lasting and comprehensive peace settlement in the region will put an end to the unsustainable situation in both Gaza and the West Bank,” he added. 150 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza though Israeli bombardment since last Wednesday.