LUXEMBOURG: The European Union on Monday announced a new three-year financial support package for the Palestinians worth up to 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion).
The fresh aid pledge came as EU foreign ministers met Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Mustafa in Luxembourg for the first meeting of “high-level dialogue” between the two sides.
“We are stepping up our support to the Palestinian people. EUR1.6 billion until 2027 will help stabilise the West Bank and Gaza,“ EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
The EU is looking to boost the Palestinian Authority as Israel has resumed its war in Gaza after a ceasefire largely put a halt to the fighting for two months.
“This will reinforce the authority’s ability to meet the needs of the Palestinian people in the West Bank and prepare it to return to govern Gaza once conditions allow,“ Kallas said.
The EU foreign policy chief reiterated the bloc’s condemnation over the “total blockade of aid into Gaza” and insistence that there was no military solution to the conflict.
She said that she was recommending further sanctions on “extremist” Israeli settlers in the West Bank, but there was not yet consensus among EU countries for the move.
Mustafa said the international community faced a “moment of truth” over the situation in Gaza and the West Bank.
“We came to demand clarity from the international community,“ he said.
“There can be no lasting peace without accountability. Israel must be held responsible for the crimes committed.”
Brussels -- the biggest international donor to the Palestinians -- said the package would include 620 million euros in grants for the Palestinian Authority.
The funds will be linked to reforms on “fiscal sustainability, democratic governance, private sector development and public infrastructure and services”, the EU said.
The rest will be made up of 576 million euros in grants for projects aimed at helping economic recovery in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
A further 400 million euros in loans would come from the bloc’s lending arm, the European Investment Bank.
The EU’s new package follows on from the previous three-year support plan worth 1.36 billion euros from 2021 to 2024.
Despite being a major provider of aid, the EU has struggled to exert influence in the crisis as its 27 countries a frequently over their approach to the conflict.
