The EU chief orders the European Commission to “do everything possible” to take advantage of the four-day truce to increase its aid deliveries.
The European Commission has announced it will step up aid deliveries to Gaza during the agreed four-day pause in the Israeli war.
Welcoming the deal, Ursula von der Leyen, head of the EU’s executive body, said the bloc would use the window to deliver more humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave.
“The European Commission will do everything possible to take advantage of this pause to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza,” she said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that “I wholeheartedly welcome this agreement.”
Tamer Qarmout, assistant professor of public policy at the Doha Institute, told Tel Aviv Tribune that the most important thing to address during the break is the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
“It’s about food and shelter. Winter is here in Gaza, people sleep outside and there is nothing to cover them. So it’s a disaster. Aid must be increased and the international community must put pressure on Israel to do so,” Qarmout said.
‘No proof’
Von der Leyen’s comments come a day after the commission announced that a review of its development aid to the Palestinians – ordered after Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 – found no evidence that funds were going to the armed group that rules Gaza.
“The review found no indication that EU money directly or indirectly benefited the terrorist organization Hamas,” Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said on Tuesday.
The EU is the largest provider of development aid to the Palestinians. It has set aside around 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) for its programs for the period 2021 to 2024.
Brussels was forced, following the attacks of October 7, to deny that it would reduce any aid to Gaza in October, following a declaration by the Hungarian Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement.
Oliver Varhelyi said on social media that “all payments” to the Palestinians had been “immediately suspended” and that “all new budget proposals”, including for 2023, had been “postponed until further notice”.
The scale of the terror and brutality against #Israel and his people are a turning point.
There can be no status quo.
As the Palestinians’ largest donor, the European Commission is reviewing its entire development portfolio, worth a total of €691 million.
⤵️– Olivier Varhelyi (@OliverVarhelyi) October 9, 2023
The committee was quick to clarify that Varhelyi’s statement was not official and that humanitarian funds would continue to flow, while an “urgent review” would be conducted into development aid that was earmarked but not yet disbursed. .
Development aid is used for projects designed to have a long-term impact, such as paying the salaries of civil servants in the Palestinian Authority, which governs the occupied West Bank, and the work of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
It is distinct from humanitarian aid, intended to meet urgent needs for essential goods such as food, water and shelter.
“The review found that the control system in place worked. Accordingly, payments to Palestinian beneficiaries and UNRWA will continue without any delays,” Dombrovskis told reporters.
The commission, however, said it would not pursue plans to provide 75.6 million euros ($82.5 million) for infrastructure projects in Gaza that are not “feasible in the current context.” “.
This money will now be spent on other projects after Israel began its intensive bombing of Gaza following the October 7 attacks.
The enclave government, led by Hamas, says at least 14,100 Palestinians have been confirmed killed during the Israeli aerial bombardment and invasion. In Israel, the official death toll from Hamas attacks stands at around 1,200 dead.