Amidst the inhuman, barbaric terrorist attack by the Hamas terrorist group, the European Union put all the aid for Palestine under review.
Table of Contents
Following the inhuman terrorist attack in Israel by Hamas on Saturday, which killed more than 900 and wounded more than 2,000 (both numbers to rise), the European Union decided to put the development aid for Palestine under review. They said that all the payment deals are on hold now and under ‘urgent review’. All the continuing projects are under review.
The Union backtracked on its earlier decision taken on Monday, which said that they were suspending all aid for Palestine. The Union’s Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, had announced the suspension of development aid to Palestine. The members of the Union had called a meeting to discuss the Israel-Palestine conflict.
After stating that it was putting all the development aid worth 691 million euros for Palestine under review, the union reversed this decision after facing criticism from some member countries and decided to review all the payments to see that the money was not being misused. The Union has not given any explanation for reversing the decision.
Here’s what the EU said
“There will be no suspension of commission”, a European Commission statement said on Monday, just five hours after the Commissioner of the Union, Oliver Varhelyi had previously said that all payments from the development program for Palestinians would be immediately suspended.” He also added that “all the new budget proposals…postponed until further notice.”
On the social media site X (formerly Twitter), Oliver Varhelyi said, “The scale of terror and brutality against Israel and its people is a turning point. There can be no business as usual. As the biggest donor of the Palestinians, the European Commission is putting its full development portfolio under review, worth a total of EUR 691m.”
Austria and Germany suspended aid to Palestine
While the EU decided to review its development aid, Austria announced on Monday, that they would suspend their aid worth a total of 19 million euros in funds to Palestinians. Speaking on Austrian radio on Monday, the country’s foreign minister, Alexander Schallenberg, decided not to distinguish between Hamas-ruled Gaza and the Palestinian Authority-led West Bank.
Germany also confirmed and decided that they would “temporarily halt” aid as they carry out a thorough financial aid to Palestine. While other member countries of the EU did not support the suspension of aid and are firm on continuing their aid, Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister, Jean Asselborn, said that his government did not support the suspension of aid.
Why have some countries suspended and reviewing the aid?
The reason for suspending and reviewing the aid is to make sure that the money is used for the people of Palestine who are in need and not for funding terrorism. In Gaza, where two million Palestinians live, the terrorist organization and political party Hamas are in full control of the area. In Palestinians living in the West Bank, Palestine’s President is in control.
Hamas attacked Israel on Saturday, killing more than 900 people, wounding 2000 more, and abducting innocent civilians, as young as 3 years old to senior citizens of 60 or older, to Gaza. The number of deaths and wounded people is rising with each passing hour. Some air raids have struck residential buildings, hospitals, and mosques. The attack on Israel is still ongoing.
To know about the Israel-Palestine conflict, check this article. With the attack from Hamas, Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has declared war on Gaza, vowing to turn the terrorist group into ruins.
