BRUSSELS – Payments to Palestine will continue to flow amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas, financed by the Palestinian Authority’s largest donor— the European Union.
“We are the biggest supporter of the Palestinian Authority in the world. It’s about €600 million a year,” Josef Borrell, the high representative for European Union foreign policy, said during a news conference on Oct. 10.
On Oct. 9, the European Union affirmed in a press release that financial aid will not be suspended to the Palestinian Authority. The EU does not recognize Palestine as a state, according to the European Commission website.
The funding portfolio amounts to a multiannual sum of nearly €681 million from 2021-2023. That’s roughly $720 million that aids development assistance under the main money vault, the Neighbourhood and Development Cooperation Instrument. The payments support a broad range of programs such as investments in schools or health care, according to Commission spokesperson Peter Stano.
The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, announced that a funding review process is in place to ensure payments don’t end up in the hands of Hamas, a militant group recognized as a terrorist group by both the U.S. and the EU. The Commission added that the review will not freeze payments or delay cooperation with the Palestinian Authority. Borrell called the review process “nothing extraordinary” and said he doesn’t believe funding is aiding Hamas. “But let’s check it,” he said.
Borrell called an informal meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers on Oct. 10 in Muscat, Oman to solidify a stance with the 27 member states of the EU. Some ministers joined from Muscat, and some virtually from their capital cities. The ministers of foreign affairs in Palestine and Israel were invited but were not present.
The review is underway “to be sure that there is no link between our support and the Hamas terrorist activities,” Borrell said in a press conference. He added that he doesn’t know when the next payment will be.
He pledged to continue humanitarian support through payments divided into programs such as a United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees. The EU contributed €97 million to that program in 2022. “It will be a mistake [if funding is halted] because it will be the best present that we could give to Hamas and it will jeopardize our interest and our partnership with the Arab world,” Borrell said.
The statement cleared up miscommunication within the Commission when Hungarian Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi said that all EU payments would be immediately suspended.
“There can be no business as usual,” the EU Enlargement Commissioner wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In the meeting of foreign ministers, Borrell said the common denominator between foreign ministers was a strong condemnation of terrorism and inhumane treatment. On Oct. 8, the European Union issued a statement condemning Hamas for “multiple and indiscriminate attacks across Israel.”
“The EU stands in solidarity with Israel which has the right to defend itself in line with international law, in the face of such violent and indiscriminate attacks,” the statement read.
Borrell reiterated the European Union’s condemnation of the terrorist attacks and attack on civilians, while supporting the release of hostages, protection of civilians and respect of international humanitarian law. He added that Israel has the right to self-defense, but within the limits of international law.
“Some of the actions — and the United Nations has already said that — as cutting water, cutting or atrocity, cutting food to a mass of civilian people is against international law. So, yes, there are some actions that are not in accordance with international law,” he said in a press conference after the special convening of foreign ministers.
Stano, lead spokesperson for foreign affairs, discussed where the European Union stands in the conflict after the foreign affairs ministers met in Muscat on Oct. 10. Here is a question-and-answer session with Annenberg Media. It has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Annenberg Media: On Monday night, the Schuman roundabout was lit up with a projection of the Israeli flag, just a day after the European Union issued a statement condemning the indiscriminate attacks of Hamas. There is a sense of support for Israel’s right to self-defense, but also a sense of continued support to financially aid the Palestinian Authority. What is the update to the EU’s stance on the conflict since the convening of foreign ministers in Oman?
Stano: The European Union absolutely stands united in solidarity with Israel because what we have seen in the scale of the aggression against Israeli civilians is unprecedented. The sheer scale of how civilians have been massacred by Hamas extremists is something unheard of, even in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That’s why the European Union decisively stands in solidarity with Israel and confirms the right of Israel to defend itself in the face of this aggression.
On the other hand, we are saying this attack was conducted by Hamas extremists. Hamas is a terrorist organization per the EU. And, we make a very clear distinction between the perpetrators of this attack — the terrorists from Hamas — and the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian people. That’s why we are stressing the importance of continuing our cooperation and support for the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people. The European Union has been, for a very long time, the biggest donor for the Palestinian Authority and for the financial needs of the Palestinian people. And we are also saying while Israel has the right to defend itself, it needs to do so in line with international law so that there is no more civilian suffering inflicted on the people in Gaza. International humanitarian law needs to be respected while Israel has the right to go after those who organized and executed these brutal attacks.
AM: Borrell pledged an unhampered continuation of payments to the Palestinian Authority and a Commission review process. What funds are being allocated to Palestine and what will this funding review process look like?
Stano: The review is just tightening the controls to make sure that all of the money that we are spending for Palestine every year is reaching the recipients, which are rightful recipients, and is used for the objectives we are intending. The objectives are to alleviate the plight of the Palestinian people, investments in schools and in the healthcare system and helping the Palestinian Authority run the institutions in the occupied territories. So it’s basically ensuring the basic running and surviving of the Palestinian population. We are also one of the biggest donors of a specialized U.N. agency which takes care of the Palestinian refugees, it’s called UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees].
We have several pots of money that are designed for different purposes. One is humanitarian assistance and this has been mostly for the people in Gaza because there was a huge humanitarian crisis in Gaza before the outbreak of the latest escalation. Then we have another budget which is development assistance or bilateral cooperation programs from which various projects are being financed. It goes to the Palestinian Authority so that they can have this budget for the schools, for the hospitals, for the payment of the civil servants, for example. The third category goes for projects which are specifically dedicated to civil society. For example, independent journalists, thinktankers, people who are dealing with community issues or trauma related issues.
For the review, I think it is part of the prudent process to ensure that we really make sure that this money goes to the objectives we set ourselves and that no one who might be connected to these attacks indirectly can benefit from this money. The review does not mean that we have suspicion, we just want to ensure that in this new very dramatic context that nothing like that is happening.
AM: How frequent are the payments and do you have an idea of when there will be a future payment?
Stano: There is no suspension of payment and the payments are disbursed on their contractual nature. The money is allocated on a yearly basis and then dispersed through different budget lines based on the nature of the contract. So basically every three or every four weeks there is some kind of payment for a project disbursement of the money.
AM: Does the EU send any aid to Israel?
Stano: I’m not aware that Israel will be in need of these types of assistance programs. Israel is not in the category of countries that would need financial assistance from the EU in the form of how we provide to other partners.
Specific programs which we are financing in Israel are, for example, research support, scientific support and student support. There is some money that goes from the European Union for specific projects which are focused on enhancing the cooperation between the EU and Israel. So it’s not for basic needs of the Israeli people, but it’s really just added value to our partnership to bring it to a higher level, bring better results and better benefits for the societies on both sides.
AM: Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi called to freeze funding just one day prior to the convening. Was this statement made in consultation with anyone in the Commission, or did he have ground to speak on behalf of the EU?
Stano: No, it was a misleading statement put out on Twitter, which was made in a sole action. That means that without any backing from the Commission. And the Commission later clarified the issue saying nothing has been suspended. Any kind of action would follow only after completing the review. If in the course of the review it stands out some of the money went into the wrong hands, then there is something wrong in our system and someone within the Commission will need to take political responsibility because there are specific people who are tasked with the oversight of this money.
AM: Is there a general sense of fracturing among the different member states in the Commission when it comes to financially backing Palestine or Israel?
Stano: Absolutely not. The European Union always acts as one. It is natural, however, that we are an organization composed of 27 member states, and these member states are basically representatives to their nominees in the European Commission. So it’s natural that we have a variety of views. We are not the Soviet Union, where everyone has to have the same opinion.
And the good thing about the European Union in general, is that we are united in diversity and that also goes for different views and approaches. We always manage to work out and iron out any differences and find a workable compromise that reflects EU unity.
AM: What is expected for the future participation of the EU in the conflict?
Stano: We are always meeting, we are always discussing and trying to adjust our positions and our decisions on what is going on in the world. It sounds a little bit cynical, but for us, it’s the usual way of how we work. This is a new topic — a new crisis — on our table, but this is not the first crisis. So unfortunately we are dealing with too many crises and we have mechanisms on how to deal with them at the level of the Commission, at the level of the member states and also in the European Parliament.