§ Mr. HoramTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much foreign aid was given by the UK Government to(a) Israel and (b) the Palestinians in the last three years. [27433]
§ Clare ShortThe information is as follows:
(a) Israel is a prosperous country that does not need or require our development assistance.
(b) The people of the West Bank and Gaza and Palestinian refugees are suffering considerable poverty, and are in need of development assistance. We have disbursed through our bilateral programme to the West Bank and Gaza Strip £5.2 million, £8 million, and £9 million in the last three financial years. We have also contributed £3.4 million, £13 million, and £18.7 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees during the same period. In addition we contribute 5 per cent. of the World bank's resources 598W (about £13 million since 1994), and 17 per cent. of the European Commission's development budget (about £30 million in 2001) to the Palestinians.