Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 31 October 2025 (HL10877), whether they still regard ending the Palestinian Authority's payments to prisoners and to the families of those killed while carrying out attacks against Israelis as a precondition for full diplomatic relations with a Palestinian state; and what assessment they have made of the statement made by a released Palestinian prisoner, Khaled Abu Amsha, on official Palestinian Authority television that ending such payments would undermine recruitment to future attacks against Israelis.

A reformed Palestinian Authority (PA) is essential to long-term stability in the region and progressing towards a two-state solution. We welcome the Palestinian Authority's commitment, underlined in the UK-PA Memorandum of Understanding, to reform prisoner payments so that welfare payments are based on needs and not linked to acts of violence. The audit has been completed. We await full publication of the audit so that this can be verified.