MEDIA RELEASES

AIJAC welcomes Foreign Minister Julie Bishop’s announcement regarding aid to the Palestinians

July 3, 2018

76bc76aace57b20652739c3beea3b57e8c477587

Media Release

AIJAC welcomes Foreign Minister Julie Bishop’s decision, announced Monday, to discontinue Australia’s funding to the World Bank’s Multi-Donor Trust Fund for the Palestinian Recovery and Development Program, and redirect the funds to the United Nations’ Humanitarian Fund for the Palestinian Territories. This appears to be a sensible and prudent step to ensure that Australian taxpayer funds are not misused, and do not inadvertently facilitate Palestinian terrorism.

AIJAC supports Australian aid to the Palestinians, which can also help contribute to a two-state resolution, the bipartisan goal of all recent Australian governments. However, such aid becomes counterproductive if some of it unintentionally provides support for terrorist groups or incentivises terrorist activities.

Meanwhile, new revelations that a leader of the widely-banned Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist group named Ahmed Abdullah Al Adine was apparently an employee of a program being paid for, in part, with Australian taxpayer dollars dispersed through the trade union aid agency APHEDA, has only re-emphasized the need for close and constant scrutiny, and rigorous accountability, in ongoing  Australian aid to the Palestinians.

AIJAC is grateful to Ms. Bishop and the government for their efforts to ensure Australian aid to the Palestinians both serves Australia’s national interests and maximises the humanitarian benefits to those in need, and for their willingness to take seriously AIJAC’s long-standing concerns about elements of that aid.

For additional information, contact AIJAC on (03)-9681-6660.

RELATED ARTICLES

RECENT POSTS

(image: Shutterstock/Svet Foto)

Houthi deal is a dangerous blow to US credibility and deterrence

Hamas started the war on October 7, 2023, when it invaded Israel and murdered 1,200 people (Image: Shutterstock)

Fact Sheet: Gaza’s death toll

More than 1,000 truckloads of aid waiting to be picked up inside Gaza at the Kerem Shalom crossing on June 18, 2024 (Source: COGAT)

Fact Sheet: Aid into Gaza

Screenshot 2025 05 09 At 12.06.51 PM

The Australian elections and the Middle East: Joel Burnie on the Middle East Forum podcast

Image: Instagram

Greens’ wild turn on Israel cost them

SORT BY TOPICS