Britain Under Pressure to Take a Stance on Financial Aid to Palestine

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly speaking during a press conference at Carlton Gardens in London on June 20, 2023. (Leon Neal/PA)

International pressure is mounting on Britain to decide whether it will suspend, review or continue financial aid to Palestine amid recent announcements by European leadership.

Downing Street has not halted development and humanitarian aid given to Palestinian territories via the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and various humanitarian programmes.

But this may change if Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stays in sync with the European Union.

In its latest announcement on Monday, the EU reversed an earlier decision to suspend a 691 million-euro aid programme for Palestinian authorities. The EU will instead urgently review its financial aid in the wake of the attacks on Israel by Hamas.

The European Commission (EC) will conduct its review “as soon as possible” and in coordination with EU member states.

“In the meantime, as there were no payments foreseen, there will be no suspension of payments,” an EC statement has said.

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The review excludes humanitarian assistance provided under European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations and focuses on the future of development programmes for Palestinians.

The review aims to ensure that “no EU funding indirectly enables any terrorist organization to carry out attacks against Israel.”

The U-turn by the EC comes amid disagreement among member state leaders on suspending financial aid to Palestine.

A spokeswoman for the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs said that suspension of aid is not a “unilateral decision” that should be made by an EU commissioner.

“We do not support a suspension of aid,” the spokeswoman added.

Spain has also opposed the suspension of aid to Palestinian territories. On Tuesday, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Hamas should not be confused “with the Palestinian population, or the Palestinian Authority or the United Nations’s organisations on the ground.”

Germany and Austria said they were suspending development aid for the Palestinian areas. Berlin will review its current £216 million aid pledge to Palestine.

Luxembourg’s acting foreign minister, Jean Asselborn, said its financial aid was not “money for Hamas” but for the “people of Gaza.”

The EU foreign ministers assemble on Tuesday in Oman for the EU-Gulf Cooperation Council meeting to discuss various issues, including security and humanitarian aid.

While the EU seeks to achieve a common approach amid geopolitical sensitivities, Britain is yet to take a stand on its Official Development Assistance (ODA) programmes in Palestine.

Among these are UK support to Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, economic development, and humanitarian assistance to the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The UK has set aside £7 million from 2023 to 2024 to “protect the political and physical viability of a two-state solution.” The overall ODA budget for this year is £17 million, to be upped to £29 million the next financial year.

Last month, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly visited Jalazone Refugee Camp in the West Bank. On his visit, Mr. Cleverly announced a funding boost of £10 million to UNRWA for providing health and education to 1.9 million Palestinian refugees.

Since 1948, the Palestinian refugee population, supported by the UNRWA has grown from  700,000 to 5.9 million, spread across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

In the wake of the Hamas attack, the UK government has condemned the “terrorist actions” and announced its support for Israel, aligning itself with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and the United States.

On Monday, Shadow Foreign Minister Wayne David said that the UK should “not turn a blind eye” to the “huge injustices committed against the Palestinian people for many years.”

He called for more UK aid to go to Palestinians who should not be “equated with Hamas.” But he was later contradicted by the shadow International Development Secretary Lisa Nandy, who argued Britain’s aid should be reviewed following Hamas’s attack.

On Tuesday, an emergency COBRA meeting will take place on the ongoing situation in Israel.