‘Safeguards in place’ to prevent misuse of aid to Palestinians, government insists
Labour Friends of Israel called for DofID to suspend payments after claims the PA were paying terrorists
The government has insisted “safeguards are in place” to ensure UK aid to pay Palestinian civil servants is not misused amid claims that funds could be helping pave the way for salaries to terrorists.
Labour Friend of Israel called for the Department for International Development to suspend payments following claims from Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), saying there was evidence the PA “effectively” continues to make such payments even though it may no longer directly do so.
The PA shut its Ministry of Prisoner affairs in 2014 and instead a PLO Commission of Prisoner Affairs was set up. But the PA raised the amount it transfers to the PLO by 481 million shekels to 775 million in 2015, according to the PA report, the same amount the PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs needed to take on the responsibilities of the PA Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs, which is paying terrorists salaries.
Concern has previously been expressed that UK payments for civil servants could enable the PA to release alternative funds which in turn allow such payments to prisoners to proceed.
DfID minister Desmond Swayne, in response to LFI’s Joan Ryan, said: “UK aid to the PA is subject to rigorous scrutiny, with safeguards in place to ensure its being used for proper development purposes. Officials met the Ministry of Finance in May and the PA has reaffirmed that prisoner payments are fully administered by the Palestinian Liberation organization. We continue to lobby that the payments to prisoner’s families are more transparent and needs-based.”
He said UK funding “helps build Palestinian institutions and promotes economic growth so that any future state will be an effective partner for peace” and insisted the government’s commitment to Israel’s security is “absolute”. He reiterated that the department id carrying out a review of its programmes in the West Bank as part of an aid review.
Ryan said: “I am surprised that ministers have chosen to ignore the mounting evidence that while the PLO may now indeed by paying prisoner salaries, this is nothing but a financial sleight of hand and the PA remains, as it has always been, the ultimate paymaster.
“As the Department for International Development Select Committee warned the government two years ago, there is a real risk that the payment of UK aid to the PA enables it to release alternative funds which allow payments to convicted terrorists to continue. As I have suggested, that cannot be an acceptable use of British taxpayers’ money and the government should suspend aid to the PA while this issue is thoroughly investigated.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
