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The European Commission suspends aid to the Palestinians

2023-10-09 23:23:50Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
The European Commission suspends aid to the Palestinians
The building of the European Commission in Brussels/AFP

Following the Hamas attack on Israel, the European Commission announced on Monday that it was immediately suspending all funding for the Palestinians and that it would review all development aid, some 691 million euros allocated to them.

Germany and Austria said on Monday they were suspending bilateral development aid to the Palestinians, while other countries, such as Italy, said no such thing was currently being discussed.

Europe is among the main sources of aid in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel, where the United Nations estimates that some 2.1 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, including 1 million children. It is unclear whether the suspension of development aid also includes this type of aid.

"The scale of terror and brutality against Israel and its people is a turning point," European Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi wrote on social networks. "We cannot continue as if nothing happened."

Hamas militants killed hundreds of Israelis and kidnapped dozens of them in the deadliest attack since the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago, prompting Israel to retaliate with heavier bombings of Gaza that have left more than 400 people dead.

Mr. Varhelyi said that new budget proposals for aid to the Palestinians have also been postponed indefinitely. "Now we have to see the foundations of peace, tolerance and coexistence", he said.

"Inciting hatred, violence and the glorification of terror has poisoned the minds of many," he added. "We have to act and we have to do it now."

European Union foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the situation, including a review of some aspects of development aid, officials said Monday. Total EU aid to the Palestinians in the 2022 budget was €296 million.

Neither the European Commission nor Germany or Austria make a distinction between Gaza, the Palestinian enclave ruled by Hamas, and the West Bank led by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which is led by President Mahmoud Abbas, head of the rival Fatah movement. of Hamas.

"Sign of solidarity"

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said his country was suspending aid for some development projects worth 19 million euros.

The conservative government of Austria, which maintains a neutral status, in recent years has adopted one of the most pro-Israel positions in the European Union. The Israeli flag has been placed in the prime minister's office and the foreign ministry after the Hamas attack.

In Germany, Development Minister Svenja Schulze, from the ranks of the Social Democrats, said they were not raising funds for bilateral aid projects while Berlin is reconsidering engagement with the Palestinian territories.

"This is also an expression of our unbreakable solidarity with Israel", she declared at the press conference. "We are in contact with our partners and are reviewing all things."

The German Ministry of Development has allocated for this year and next year 250 million euros in funds for bilateral development projects in the Palestinian territories. It was not announced what funds were distributed this year.

In recent days, German politicians have underlined the special obligation their country has to Israel and its security, given its historical responsibility for the Holocaust. The Brandenburg Gate, one of the main symbols of Berlin, was covered with the Israeli flag on Saturday night.

However, some politicians have reacted against the decision to suspend aid, saying that Hamas, and not all Palestinians, are responsible for the attack.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office, which is led by Green Party officials, said it would continue to distribute the €73 million in funds earmarked for the Palestinians - which are separate funds from the development ministry, and most of which has already been spent.

According to a government official, Germany is obliged to distribute these funds, as they have been promised in advance through humanitarian organizations and the UN.

Asked whether Italy would follow the lead of Germany and Austria in suspending development aid, an Italian foreign ministry spokesman said such a thing was not being discussed.

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, asked if Britain would follow Austria and Germany, said Britain had in the past given aid to Palestinian refugees through the United Nations and was not aware of any plans to change its approach.


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