CFI Parliamentary Chairmen, Rt. Hon. MP and Rt. Hon. The , and CFI Honorary President
CBE, have written to
International Development Secretary Rt. Hon. MP expressing their concerns
over language used in recent correspondence to parliamentarians
on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
Yesterday, the International Development Secretary wrote to
parliamentarians to explain the background of the announcement
last month of an additional £5 million of UK aid for UNRWA.
Mr Crabb, and contend that the Secretary
of State’s correspondence “fails to give the necessary assurances
that this additional aid designation will be dispensed
responsibly”, raising additional concerns on the “troubling”
omission of Hamas’s status as an internationally proscribed
terrorist entity.
They note that there is no “recognition of [Hamas’s] harmful
impact upon the people of Gaza”, including “Hamas’s efforts to
divert international aid to construct cross-border attack tunnels
into Israel and produce rockets to fire towards Israeli civilian
communities”.
Conveying the concerns of a number of Conservative colleagues,
particularly over the “role of Hamas in Gaza and the need for
thorough scrutiny to reassure British taxpayers”, they write that
it was “improper” for the Secretary of State to refer to a
“political conflict between Hamas and Israel”. They argue that
this “wrongly implies that there is a parity between the two
parties”. “As you know, Hamas is an internationally proscribed
terror organisation committed to the violent destruction of
Israel and opposed to any political dialogue or peace process,
while Israel is a Western democracy which shares our commitment
to finding a two-state solution”, they underline.
While recognising UNRWA’s “important humanitarian role” in the
lives of generations of Palestinians, CFI’s Parliamentary
Chairmen and Honorary President maintain “legitimate concerns
over the long-term viability of the organisation”.
They express additional “longstanding concerns” over “the
presence of antisemitism, violent rhetoric and incitement within
the Palestinian Authority curriculum”, which is used by UNRWA
across its network of 700 schools, and condemn the PA’s
“abhorrent practice of paying salaries to convicted Palestinian
terrorists”.
The parliamentarians argue that UK Government representations on
incitement with the Palestinian Authority “appear to have been
ineffective”, and call for a “firmer approach” to be considered.
They write that it is “wholly unrealistic to expect progress in
tackling radicalisation by the Palestinian Authority if UNRWA is
supported unconditionally in its existing format”.
They would welcome the opportunity to meet with the Secretary of
State to discuss their concerns further.
