British government whitewashes its funding of the PA's support for terror, documented by PMW

Why is the British government keen to whitewash its funding of the Palestinian Authority's support for terrorists, but even keener to demonstrate its opposition to any funding of Israeli scientific projects? Douglas Carswell MP has accused Foreign Secretary William Hague of "being under the thumb of pro-Arabist" diplomats in the Foreign Office, but what if it is actually the other way around?

In March 2012, British MP Douglas Carswell accused William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, of being "under the thumb of pro-Arabist" diplomats in the Foreign Office. In response, a furious Hague denounced Carswell as a "fantasist"...

Since Carswell accused Hague of 'Arabism,' the behavior of Britain's ruling Conservative Party suggests that Carswell was on the right track. Earlier this month, the British Parliament held a rare debate on "hate incitement against Israel and the West by the Palestinian Authority." The discussion was initiated by Gordon Henderson MP, who cited evidence compiled by Palestinian Media Watch, which documented the Palestinian Authority's long history of glorifying terror and promoting hatred against Jews.

In response to the examples of Palestinian incitement that were presented, Alistair Burt, the Under Secretary for the Foreign Office, stated that this hate education "is not simply a cause of separation between peoples and hatred; I am afraid that it is a symptom of it … We deplore incitement on either side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

Blaming Israel for the Palestinian government's glorification of suicide bombers was not quite enough; Burt added that it is important the Parliament sees Palestinian incitement "in context."

Here is the deal that exists so far: The British government provides £86 million every year to the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority pays the salaries of terrorists in Israeli jails, names football competitions after suicide bombers, and its government-controlled media promotes martyrdom and demonizes Jews (all of which was exposed and documented by PMW).

While the British government is keen to whitewash its funding for the terror-supporting Palestinian Authority, it is even keener to demonstrate its opposition to any funding of Israeli scientific projects.

In response to a campaign by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, a radical anti-Jewish movement which has long supported the terror group Hamas, Burt sought to reassure the extremist group's members: "We understand that Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories received an EU contribution totalling 1.13 million Euros ... for Research, Development and Technological Development. We are following up with the European Commission to outline our concerns."

In the battle between providing funds to support and glorify terrorists, or to a scientific research project, evidently scientific research is considered the bigger villain...

The Conservative government, moreover, seems eager to avoid discussing the issue of Palestinian terrorism at all. In May 2012, the Glasgow Herald published details of a secret document, which incriminated the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC) in the Lockerbie bombing, and cast doubt on the conviction of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, the Libyan who was convicted for the deadly attack. Although the document was originally obtained from Jordan by the Crown Office, it was never shown to Megrahi's defense team.

For months, the British government, apparently desperate to prevent publication, threatened legal action against the newspaper. Government lawyers had arranged for the document to be covered by Public Interest Immunity on national security grounds. Why is it so important to protect the Palestinian reputation?

In calling the British Foreign Minister an "Arabist," Carswell was perhaps being a bit too generous. Support for Arab interests actually goes all the way to the top...