The British government’s Department for International Development (DFID) has frozen part of its aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) pending an investigation into the scandal of aid money being paid to convicted Palestinian prisoners, including those convicted for terrorist offences, The Sun newspaper reported.

The Department’s Minister, Priti Patel, has ordered a review of the PA’s role in funding salaries to terrorists, effectively freezing some £25 million (roughly $30 million) in the current fiscal year, or about one-third of the UK’s total aid to the PA.

Britain spends hundreds of millions of pounds supporting the PA through direct grants and a lump sum to UNWRA.

Several organisations have been campaigning to raise awareness of the scandal, demanding an urgent review.

The umbrella representative body of the British Jewish community, the Board of Deputies, praised the Minister’s decision.

“The Board of Deputies of British Jews welcomes reports that International Development Secretary Priti Patel has ordered a suspension of aid payments to the Palestinian Authority in order to investigate claims that British tax money is reaching terrorists and their families through the Palestinian Liberation Organization,” the group said.

The statement quoted its senior vice president Richard Verber saying: “We do not take issue with the British Government supporting genuine development in the Palestinian territories. However, we have long been deeply concerned by the Department for International Development’s assertion that British tax money categorically does not fund terrorism and incitement. We welcome this move and hope that a robust and thorough investigation will be carried out. We would also like to thank the Members of Parliament and media organizations who have echoed our concerns with increasing volume over the past few months.”

The Conservatives Friends of Israel said the announcement ‘’is an important step towards peace and those who work for it on all sides. It sends a wake-up call to the Palestinian Authority.’’

‘’This announcement will benefit Palestinian residents as funding will be unambiguously focused on coexistence, economic development and peace.”