Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the salaries of Palestinian Authority (PA) employees paid by her Department will be reduced as a result of the the announcement by the PA Minister of Finance that the salaries of public employees will be partial following the ending of US support to the PA.

The UK is concerned about the effects of US and Israeli cuts to the PA’s budget on both the PA’s ability to deliver essential services to Palestinians and on the prospects for peace and stability in the region. The Palestinian Ministry of Finance and Planning has not published details of the planned reductions in wages announced last month. DFID officials will engage with the PA to assess the implications for PEGASE beneficiaries. The UK continues to support a stable PA which can act as an effective partner for peace with Israel through financial assistance to the health and education sectors to exclusively support the salaries of vetted public servants in the West Bank.