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30th Mar 2024

EU freezes aid to Hamas-led Palestinian Authority

The European Commission has halted aid payments to the Hamas-led Palestinian government, until EU member states take a definitive stance on how to deal with the newly-installed government in Gaza.

"For the time being, there are no payments to or through the Palestinian Authority," a commission spokeswoman, told a press conference in Brussels on Friday (7 April).

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EU foreign ministers are scheduled to discuss future assistance at a meeting in Luxembourg at the beginning of next week.

The commission spokesperson said that the EU’s executive arm was adopting "a policy of maximum prudence" so as not to prejudge the ministers’ discussion.

She also said that the commission had to await member state approval in the politically sensitive matter before handing out member state money.

In the immediate future, some $36.9m in aid from Brussels is at stake, money which is vital to keep the cash-stripped Palestinian economy afloat.

Brussels must revise direct aid strategy

An EU diplomat told EUobserver that EU ambassadors in a preparatory meeting in Brussels had decided to put forward a rather cautious basis for discussions to their ministers at the Luxembourg meeting.

The ambassadors in their conclusions state that the EU is to remind Hamas of the principles required by Brussels for it to maintain support to the Palestinian Authority. The conclusions also mention that EU aid has to be revised but do not say that it has to be withdrawn.

The diplomat said that Brussels is reluctant to press too hard before the future new Israeli government had revealed its stance on the matter.

The EU is the biggest donor to the Palestinian Authority, with member states and the European Commission putting aside around €500 million a year since 2003.

The suspension of EU payments would not affect humanitarian aid sent to non-governmental organisations or to UN relief agencies in the Palestinian territories.

Blackmail

From the Palestinian Authorities' headquarters in Gaza, a reaction to the commission decision came rapidly on Friday.

A spokesman for the Hamas government said the decision to suspend aid was a form of "blackmail" that would harm mostly civilian Palestinians.

"Hamas was elected democratically and the Palestinian people are punished for their choice," the spokesperson said, according to media reports.

"The EU will not only punish the government, but all the Palestinian people - the poor, the students, the workers."

EU leaders have said that they are ready to work with any Palestinian government that is committed to peace, setting up three fundamental principles that a Palestinian government must comply with in order to sit around EU negotiation tables.

Hamas must recognise the right of Israel to exist, renounce violence and commit itself to the peace process.

The newly-installed Palestinian foreign minister has said he is prepared to discuss the concept of a two-state solution that would recognise Israel.

Mahmoud al-Zahar, who is also a senior Hamas leader, told the British newspaper the Times that he wanted clarification on the two-state proposal from the "quartet" of Middle East mediators - the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia.

And he warned that his government would demand to know what Israel and the international community would offer in return.

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