In the House of Commons on Wednesday, Middle East Minister Alistair Burt said that the UK Government raises its concerns about ongoing incitement with the Palestinian Authority (PA) “continually”, adding that “there should be no incitement to terror and no incitement to violence”.
The Minister’s remarks came in response to a question from Conservative MP Jack Lopresti, who condemned the PA’s continued naming of schools and the payment of salaries to prisoners convicted of terror offences.
Mr Lopresti asked the Minister if he shared his concern about “the Palestinian Authority’s continuing naming of schools after terrorists and the payment of salaries to convicted murderers”. He added: “Can we be sure that UK taxpayers are not facilitating payments?”
Minister Burt replied: “My hon. Friend can be absolutely sure that we share his concern in relation to this. The matter is continually raised with the Palestinian Authority. There should be no incitement to terror and no incitement to violence. We make rigorously sure that no UK taxpayers’ money is spent on this”.
Contradicting its assurances to the international community, the PA pays monthly salaries to Palestinian terrorists and their families. These monthly salaries are paid to around 5,500 convicted terrorists, ranging from £230 to as much as £2,000 for those serving a 30-year sentence.
In 2017 the PA paid over £250 million for this practice, worth around 7% of its budget and up to 50% of its foreign aid receipts.
Prisoner salaries directly reward terrorists who have killed Israelis, with higher salaries given to those who have killed more Israelis.
