EU suspends aid to Palestinian territories after attack on Israel

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The European Union has launched a review of all development funding to the Palestinian territories in response to Hamas attacks on Israel, following similar decisions by Germany and Austria.

“The scale of terror and brutality against Israel and its people is a turning point. It cannot be business as usual,” EU Neighborhood Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi wrote on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) . “

“All payments are suspended immediately. All projects are under review. All new budget proposals, including those for 2023, are postponed until further notice.” Várhelyi said. “Incitement to hatred, violence and the glorification of terror have poisoned the minds of too many people,” he added. “We need action, and we need it now.”

The EU decision, which affects 691 million euros in aid, comes after the German government said earlier on Monday it would stop 125 million euros worth of bilateral aid expiring this year pending a “comprehensive” review of how such aid is used.

Austria’s aid worth 19 million euros has also been stopped.

Foreign ministers from the 27 EU countries will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the EU’s response to the attack. They will gather in Muscat, Oman, where they are scheduled to attend an EU-GCC meeting.

The EU has pledged financial support totaling 1.18 billion euros for the Hamas-controlled West Bank and Gaza corridor between 2021 and 2024.

The European Commission denies that any funds flow to Hamas. “The EU does not directly or indirectly finance Hamas or its terrorist activities,” the statement read, adding that the EU has had a “non-engagement policy” with the group since 2007.

EU-funded programs are implemented by development partners such as NGOs.

“Hamas’ aggression must stop and the hostages must be released,” the committee said, adding that Israel had the right to self-defense.

More than 700 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed and about 100 were taken hostage in Saturday’s raid, the country’s deadliest single-day conflict.

Some EU capitals are reluctant to completely freeze bilateral and EU funds, arguing that it would punish civilians rather than the perpetrators of the attacks. Italy said on Monday it would continue to provide humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territories.

German Development Minister Svenia Schulz said late Sunday that the attacks marked a “terrible turning point” and that Germany was seeking to coordinate with allies on how best to respond. Schulz, of Chancellor Olaf Schulz’s Social Democratic Party, said the German government must review “its entire involvement in the Palestinian territories”.

Israel has promised overwhelming military retaliation, focusing on the Gaza Strip, a narrow coastal enclave home to some 2 million Palestinians who live in cramped and often squalid conditions from where the attacks are planned and activated.

On Monday, the Israeli military said it had taken control of the border area around Gaza, including several gaps in the heavily fortified perimeter fence created by attackers to swarm into southern Israel and begin their rampage. Israel said it bombed more than 1,000 targets in Gaza overnight.

Germany said it was confident its existing aid commitments were mainly for “long-term development cooperation”, citing health and training programs as examples.

Berlin provided no funds to the Palestinian Authority, the statement said. It stressed that the payment blockage was temporary.

Lawmakers from the opposition Christian Democratic Union said Monday’s suspension should be seen as a “first step” and called for a stronger response.

In an interview with Die Zeit Online, CDU foreign policy spokesman Roderich Kiesewetter called for a “comprehensive review” of the use of all German aid in Palestine across ministries including the foreign, development and interior ministries. Ministry and Ministry of Economy. and which organizations it is targeting.

He singled out organizations in Germany that receive government funding and said they have links to terrorist groups such as Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah.