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Written Question
Palestinians: Textbooks
Tuesday 31st March 2020

Asked by: Lord Pickles (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the reported antisemitic and extremist content in Palestinian Authority school textbooks adhere to (1) the Palestinian Authority–Department for International Development Memorandum of Understanding, and (2) the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to take action against incitement to violence.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Our partnership with the Palestinian Authority (PA) is underpinned by a Memorandum of Understanding and our ‘partnership principles’. We continue to judge that the PA are demonstrating a credible commitment to this Memorandum and the ‘partnership principles’. Related to education, the Palestinian Authority’s Education Minister has announced that he is currently revising the textbooks in time for the next academic year. The Palestinian Authority have also agreed to engage constructively with the review of the textbooks that we secured through our European Partners.


Written Question
Palestinians: Curriculum
Tuesday 31st March 2020

Asked by: Lord Pickles (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether reported antisemitic content in the Palestinian Authority’s school curriculum is in breach of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK government is deeply concerned about the allegations of incitement in Palestinian Authority’s school textbooks. The International Development Secretary reiterated our concerns in a call to the Palestinian Authority’s Education Minister just last month.

In order to assess the concerns highlighted in this question, the UK took the lead in calling for an independent review of Palestinian textbooks, as a result of which an independent review of the alleged incitement to violence and hatred in the textbooks is underway with the support of our European partners. We expect interim findings in Spring 2020 and full findings later in the year.


Written Question
Palestinians: Textbooks
Monday 30th March 2020

Asked by: Lord Pickles (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether UK aid supports the Palestinian Authority’s production of school textbooks.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK does not fund textbooks in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our education funding to the PA contributes to the salaries of carefully vetted education public servants, including teachers. Following allegations of incitement in the Palestinian Authority’s school textbooks, the UK secured agreement from our European partners to lead an independent review of the textbooks, which is underway. We expect interim findings by June 2020 and full findings later in the year.


Written Question
UNRWA: Finance
Tuesday 26th February 2019

Asked by: Lord Pickles (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the value of the UK’s contribution to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East in (1) 2010–11, (2) 2015–16, and (3) 2017–18.

Answered by Lord Bates

The amount of UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for the requested years is given in the table below. This data is published each year in the Statistics on International Development (SID) publication and is presented on a calendar year basis. Figures for 2018 will be released this autumn.

£ (millions)

2010

2011

2015

2016

2017

Total UK ODA to UNRWA per calendar year

29.1

35.0

64.0

54.4

51.0

Source: Statistics for International Development 2009-2017

ODA figures are produced only on a calendar year basis in line with the Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation, Development Assistance Committee definitions.


Written Question
UNRWA: Finance
Tuesday 26th February 2019

Asked by: Lord Pickles (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the expected funding requirements of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East based on population projections in (1) 2020, (2) 2025, and (3) 2030.

Answered by Lord Bates

UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has made no formal assessment on expected funding based on population projections in (1) 2020, (2) 2025, and (3) 2030. Our future funding commitments will be reviewed at regular intervals; UNRWA budgeting models are agreed by the general assembly every two years and were most recently approved for 2019. UNRWA’s current Medium-Term Strategy extends to 2021. The UK has been a consistent top five donor to UNRWA. A long-term solution requires a just, fair, agreed and realistic settlement for Palestinian refugees. Until that happens the UK remains firmly committed to supporting UNRWA and Palestinian refugees. We recognise that UNRWA will continue to face funding challenges and are having proactive discussions with them about how to ensure the continued delivery of their essential services, recognising strides that they have already made in cost savings initiatives.