Almost all of the EU member states- 26 out of 27 EU states – voted in favor of the decision to resume financial support for the Palestinian Authority (PA), which was suspended two years ago. In doing so the EU backed down on its demands for new measures that it had insisted be taken by the PA for a renewal of funding.
The EU will now unconditionally renew its financial support to the PA. About 80% of this support is allocated to projects, hospitals and aid, while 20% of the funds will be transferred directly to the PA’s coffers.
Sources told TPS that the support amounts to 250 million euros ($260 million) per year, and it is expected that the full amount will be transferred in the coming months.
The reasons for the original suspension of the funding revolved around three issues and conditions that the EU and the PA had disagreed on:
- The Palestinian school curriculum and the requirement that it change in the way that it refers to Israel, among other education issues.
- The EU’s demand that the PA cease all payments or salaries to the families of the terrorists either held prisoner in Israel or who were killed or wounded while undertaking acts of terrorism.
- The continued payment by the PA of the salaries for government workers in the Gaza Strip, which the EU opposes.
The Europeans, however, have now withdrawn all of their demands and so the PA will be free to continue to finance the families of terrorists and the Hamas government in Gaza.
