The Australian government on Monday announced that it is ending its $10 million (Rs 5.04 crore) funding to the Palestinian government. It said the decision was influenced by concerns that Australian funding may be used to assist Palestinians convicted of politically motivated violence.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop said the had written to the Palestinian Authority asking for an assurance that funds were not being used to “assist Palestinians convicted of politically motivated violence.”
“I am concerned that in providing funds for this aspect of the [Palestinian Authority’s] operations there is an opportunity for it to use its own budget to activities that Australia would never support,” Bishop said in a statement.
The funds were provided to the Palestinian Authority through the World Bank’s Multi-Donor Trust Fund for the Palestinian Recovery and Development Programme. They will now be diverted to the United Nations’ Humanitarian Fund for the Palestinian Territories to pay for healthcare, food, water, improved sanitation and shelter, according to the statement.
Australia’s decision comes at a time when Palestine’s relations with the United States have strained over the relocation of the US embassy from Israel to Jerusalem. Over 50 people were killed when Israeli troops fired, shelled and sniped at Palestinian protestors in May.
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