Commenting on reports about the suspension of funding to the PA in today’s Sun, Ian Austin MP, LFI parliamentary supporter, said:
“British aid has a key role to play in supporting the alleviation of poverty and economic development and the promotion of peace and coexistence in Palestine. Those goals are, however, undermined by the current misuse of aid by the Palestinian Authority. I welcome the fact therefore that, after months of procrastination and denials, DfID appears finally to have accepted that aid to the Palestinian Authority cannot continue for so long as it engages in anti-Semitic incitement and remains the ultimate paymaster of salaries to convicted terrorists. It is, however, somewhat surprising that only three weeks ago Priti Patel suggested to me that, in its most recent assessment, DfiD had concluded that the PA continues to uphold the principles of non-violence and respect for human rights and thus was not in breach of the MOU which governs our aid to it. I am calling again on the Secretary of State to release that assessment and repeat LFI’s call for a full, independent inquiry into how British aid can best support the realisation of a two-state solution. DfiD simply does not have the credibility to conduct its own review behind closed doors.”
Letter from the Secretary of State to Ian Austin MP, 15/09/16