EU Reverses Decision to Suspend Aid to Palestinians

EU Reverses Decision to Suspend Aid to Palestinians

In a perplexing turn of events, the European Commission announced on Monday that it would not suspend humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, contradicting an earlier statement made by EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi.

Initially, Varhelyi had declared that in response to the Hamas attack on Israel, “all payments [to the Palestinians] will be suspended immediately. All projects are under review. All new budget proposals, including those for 2023, have been postponed until further notice.”

However, in a subsequent response, the European Commission contradicted its own official, asserting that “there will be no suspension of payments.” No clarification was provided for this abrupt change.

Since Saturday, there has been overwhelming support for Israel from the 27 EU member countries, emphasizing Israel’s right to defend itself under international law in the conflict with Hamas.

Conversely, Spain has opposed the suspension of aid to the Palestinians. Spain’s acting Foreign Minister, Jose Manuel Albares, emphasized the need for continued cooperation, expressing concern that linking Hamas, a designated terrorist group by the EU, with the Palestinian people, the Palestinian Authority, or UN organizations on the ground would not be productive.

Albares stated that the Palestinian territories are likely to require more aid in the aftermath of the recent Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.

European Union foreign ministers are scheduled to discuss this issue in their upcoming meeting.

In a concerning development, Israel announced a complete siege of the Gaza Strip on Monday, blocking the entry of essential supplies such as food and water and cutting off the electricity supply. This action has raised fears of a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Israel continued its airstrikes on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Tuesday, as the militant group threatened to harm some of the approximately 150 hostages it had taken over the weekend in response to ongoing airstrikes. The death toll in Israel has now risen to 900 from Hamas attacks, prompting Israeli retaliation with airstrikes in Gaza, where approximately 700 individuals have been killed.