UK-Israel campaign groups complain over foreign office silence on Palestinian aid

The grassroots campaign group We Believe in Israel and the advocacy organisation B’nai B’rith have jointly referred the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) over an alleged failure to respond in time to a question about British aid to the  Palestinian Authority (PA).

Both groups wrote to the  FCDO’s information rights team on 2nd May 2023 seeking to clarify how British aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is being audited, with a view to establishing whether or not taxpayers’ money is being used to support, facilitate, or incentivise terrorism.

But the email, and a subsequent chaser, sent on June 7th, were both ignored. Failure to acknowledge such requests within 30 days is unlawful and constitutes a breach of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, say both groups.

Luke Akehurst, director of We Believe in Israel, said:: “Following the shocking murder of the Dee women earlier this year, it became apparent that British aid to the PA must be subject to appropriate scrutiny.

“The PA has a longstanding policy of financially incentivising terrorism by paying salaries to convicted terrorists while they are in Israeli prisons, or their families in the event of their death under the ‘Pay for Slay scheme’. 

“Our government must not be complicit with this, and the purpose of our FOI request was simply to scrutinise how our taxpayers’ money is used when sent to the PA.

“We wrote to the FCDO’s information rights team on 2nd May 2023 requesting an update to what was disclosed to UKLFI in 2019. 

“As this eventually passed the public interest, we expected the FCDO to disclose relevant documents without any issues. Unfortunately, our email was not responded to within the statutory deadline, and a chaser sent on 7th June 2023 was also ignored.

“Failure to acknowledge such requests within 30 days is unlawful and constitutes a breach of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. As such, it has now been referred to the ICO.”

UK Lawyers for Israel had submitted a similar request to the Department for International Development (DFID) in July 2018, which was initially refused. 

Relevant documents were only disclosed following an intervention by the ICO, which DFID began taking steps to legally challenge before recanting. While DFID no longer exists, its previous work is now conducted by the FCDO following their 2020 merger.

Jeremy Havardi, Director of the Bureau of international Affairs at B’nai B’rith International, added:”The deafening silence from the FCDO in response to an FOI request with strong precedent in favour of disclosure is most disappointing.

“Our request was motivated by a desire to establish whether or not British aid is being used financially incentivise terrorist attacks, and it should not have taken the tragic murder of three British citizens (Lucy, Rina, and Maia Dee) to have catalysed this.

“We will work with the ICO and sector partners to compel the FCDO to release the requested documents, with an ultimate goal of increasing the transparency surrounding British aid provision to the PA.”

Jewish News has contacted the FCDO for comment.