Aid to Palestinians helps to fund barbarous terror

ON December 18, 2010, Kay Wilson and Kristine Luken were hiking in the hills of Jerusalem. They were set upon by barbarous Palestinian terrorists. Despite multiple stab wounds, Kay survived but poor Kristine’s body was later found by Israeli police, bound and knifed to death. Kay is now understandably writing to the International Development Committee asking why aid is going to the Palestinian Authority, as well she might.

This is not just another case of us wasting money on foreign aid when it is needed at home: it is obscene. It has been reported that the Palestinian Authority paid terrorists and their families nearly $350million last year, money that we are contributing to. We are all agitated and rightly so about the threat of Islamic terrorism but in this case we are actually helping to fund it. Think of that next time some monster runs amok on our streets.

President Trump certainly comes in for his fair share of criticism both at home and abroad but he was absolutely right to threaten to cut funding for the Palestinian Authority if it did not recommence peace talks. But the fact is that many Palestinians have no genuine desire for peace as that would entail recognising Israel. It is about time we in the West recognised that Israel is our only real friend in the Middle East and to fund organisations that would do that country and indeed us harm is suicidal madness.