What recent discussions he has had with the Government of Egypt on the middle east peace process.

I spoke to the Egyptian Foreign Minister yesterday about the middle east peace process. I thanked him for Egypt's efforts in bringing about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. It is vital that the ceasefire now holds, allowing the humanitarian situation to improve and bringing to an end the rocket attacks on southern Israel.

I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. I agree that the Egyptians have made commendable efforts in the last short while. Does he agree, however, there is a great deal more that they could do? I hope that they would agree that that is the case as well. I am thinking in particular of the tunnelling under the border, which is continuing, and the smuggling of people and dangerous contraband.

My hon. Friend raises an important point. He will know that smuggling is a long-term issue that is a threat to Egypt as well as something that just goes through the country. This is intimately related to the crossings between Gaza and Egypt, and the crossings into Israel. As soon as we get properly organised legal traffic going through those crossings, which is a priority for all sides, there will be a parallel commitment to crack down on the smuggling that is a threat to all the countries in the region.

I welcome, as did the Foreign Secretary, the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. Does he agree, however, that there is now a pressing need to ease the blockade on Gaza? I went to Gaza two months ago, and I was horrified by the crippling poverty there, and particularly by the impact of the blockade on health services. In his discussions with Egypt and with Israel, has he had specific talks about the passage of patients across the border to access better health care? I certainly saw individuals being denied that health care.

The hon. Lady raises an important point, and it is one that we raise particularly in respect of health supplies, and in general in respect of fuel, electricity and other traffic into the Gaza strip. It is important to say that we are not just calling into thin air for improved access to Gaza on humanitarian grounds. As part of the agreement, Israel itself has committed to improving the flow of goods services, and all the independent estimates—and statements by Hamas and by Israel itself—show that there has been an improvement of, I think, about 30 per cent. during the first three days of the ceasefire. That is certainly something that we should encourage all sides to build on.

The Foreign Secretary referred to the Rafah crossing. He will aware that the opening of that crossing in 2006 was negotiated after a lot of effort by the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. What recent discussions has he had with Condoleezza Rice about the prospects, seven months on, for securing the Annapolis process agreement?

On almost every occasion that I meet or speak to Secretary Rice, we discuss the situation in the middle east. We certainly did so on Sunday, when I last spoke to her, and I will obviously meet her at the G8 Foreign Ministers' meeting on Thursday in Japan. I know that the middle east will be a major topic there, and we are looking forward to her latest report on her recent visit, and also to having further discussions on how to advance a process that, I think it is fair to say, is slightly more promising than it would have been in a Question Time two or three weeks ago. The developments in Gaza and the Lebanon, and the opening of the Israel-Syria talks, are creating a more propitious environment for the Israeli-Palestinian track. It is important that we should not get carried away by any sense of optimism, but there are some important stirrings there.

Can the Minister give me an assurance that there will be no negotiations with Hamas by the British Government until the three Quartet principles have been met and upheld?

Yes, we certainly stick to the Quartet principles. It is important to say, however, that the lack of contact is not the real issue in respect of Hamas. The real issue is the choice that it has to make about the role that it wants to play in the future. The Norwegians have publicised the fact that they are talking to Hamas, and Hamas has obviously been involved in discussions with the Egyptians over the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The announcement by President Abbas that he wanted to re-establish Palestinian unity on a basis that recognised the state of Israel, that renounced violence and that respected previous Palestinian agreements was the right way forward. It is important that we take our cue from President Abbas on this matter.

In congratulating the President of Egypt on, and thanking him for, the key role that he has played in bringing about the ceasefire between Hamas and the Israelis, will my right hon. Friend say whether when he has his discussions with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, he will also discuss with her the continued expansion of illegal Israeli settlements on the west bank, which are against international law and which President Bush to his credit—a very rare thing—has denounced?

Yes; my right hon. Friend has made his own position clear and I have made the Government's position clear from this Dispatch Box on many occasions: the requirement on all sides to live up to their road map commitments does indeed apply to all sides. The Israeli commitment in respect of settlements needs to be honoured. There is significance in what President Sarkozy said in Israel yesterday and in what President Bush said there the week before. There is real determination in the international community to hold on to the idea that 2008 has to be made into a key year for the middle east peace process. There has not been such a process for seven years; there is one now, and it is precious, so we need to ensure that we make some progress.