The European Union has suspended all payments of its development aid to the Palestinians and decided to reassess all its ongoing programmes, European Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi announced on Monday (9 October).
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All payments immediately suspended, all projects reviewed, all project budgets, including for 2023, postponed until further notice, reassessment of the whole programme," the Hungarian Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement said on X. He said that the current development aid programme amounted to €691 million, without elaborating.
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The scale of terror and brutality against Israel and its people marks a turning point. It is not possible to carry on business as usual," the commissioner said, on the eve of an extraordinary emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers convened in the wake of Hamas' attack on Israel.
Terrorist Organization
The European Union, one of the largest financial backers to the Palestinians, plans to spend some €1.2 billion between 2021 and 2024 to finance projects, particularly in education or health. However, a Commission spokesman stressed on Monday that the EU does not "directly or indirectly" fund Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip and is considered by the European Union to be a terrorist organisation.
More than 700 people have been killed in southern Israel since Hamas launched a military offensive from the Gaza Strip on Saturday. In the Gaza Strip, Israeli army strikes have killed at least 560 people since Saturday, according to the latest toll from local authorities.