British taxpayers are funding anti-Israel and extremist teaching in the Palestinian territories, a new report claims.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) said millions of pounds had been spent on Palestinian Authority-funded TV broadcasts, school textbooks and newspaper articles discouraging a two-state solution.
The TPA report, Palestinian Hate Education since Annapolis, concludes that money from the Department for International Development (DFID), which totalled almost £100 million in the 2007/08 financial year, is being used directly to promote hatred of Israel and the West.
Matthew Sinclair, TPA research director, said: “British taxpayers’ money must not support propaganda that incites violence in the Middle East. The government needs to accept that donations create responsibilities.
“We must ensure that the PA doesn’t use the financial freedom our donations provide to indoctrinate its people, particularly the huge number of young people whose attitudes are so important to ending the conflict.”
A DFID spokeswoman said: “The DFID takes great care to ensure money from the UK is properly spent in the Palestinian territories. Our support is transparent and is channelled through international organisations such as the World Bank and the UN.”
She said the department had last year given more than £19 m to UNWRA, the UN agency which works in the
Palestinian territories, and approves content in PA textbooks.