The European Commissioner for Middle East Affairs announced that the European Union plans to increase its financial support to the Palestinian Authority with a package worth around €1.6 billion ($1.8 billion) over the next three years.
اضافة اعلان
Dubravka Šuica, the EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean region, stated that the financial support will go hand-in-hand with reforms within the Palestinian Authority.
“We want them to reform themselves, because without reform they won’t be strong or trustworthy enough for dialogue—not just with us, but also with Israel,” said Šuica.
Her comments came ahead of the first “high-level political dialogue” between EU foreign ministers and senior Palestinian officials, including Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, taking place Monday in Luxembourg.
The European Union is the largest donor to the Palestinians, and EU officials hope that the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, may one day assume control over Gaza after the war between Israel and the Hamas movement ends.
However, the Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has so far rejected the idea of transferring control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority and has avoided engaging with the EU’s broader goal of a two-state solution, which envisions the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
According to Šuica:
€620 million will be allocated to financial support and reform of the Palestinian Authority,
€576 million will go toward adaptation and recovery in the West Bank and Gaza, and
€400 million will be provided as loans from the European Investment Bank, pending approval by its board of directors.
She also noted that the EU has provided an average of €400 million annually in support to the Palestinian Authority over the past twelve years.
“We are now investing in the Palestinian Authority in a reliable way,” Šuica added.
(Source: Reuters)
