The British government announced that it will only pay the salaries of the Palestinian public servants working in the education and health sectors.
“UK support to the PA will help to pay the salaries of up to 30,000 teachers, doctors, nurses, midwives and other essential health and education public servants on a vetted list,” the government announced in a statement on its official website.
The statement said the decision forms part of an ongoing examination of UK aid to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, carried out by the Department for International Development, in close collaboration with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, “to ensure that support is reaching those it is meant to help, doing so as effectively as possible, and representing best value for money”.
The UK funds will no longer be used to support the salaries of Palestinian Authority public servants in Gaza who have not been able to work, it added.
According to the statement, the UK will assess fiscal and public financial management reforms and the Palestinian Authority will need to show progress in order to secure full future payments from the UK.
The Department for International Development is expected to provide up to £25 million to the PA this financial year. Meanwhile, future payments will be subject to annual sign-off by UK government ministers after reviewing the PA’s commitment to the UK Partnership Principles and progress against key reform indicators.