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The president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, announced on June 14 the release of more than 200 million euros destined for the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). The frozen funds, which among other consequences prevented dozens of Palestinians from receiving cancer treatment, were restricted following a demand on the PNA to change the content of Palestinian textbooks as they were deemed to contain anti-Semitic content.
“Thank you for resuming your assistance with us. This is a day of happiness”, said the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad Stayeh, on Thursday, June 14, after the European Union confirmed the release of around 214 million euros in aid for the Palestinians.
“I am pleased to announce that the EU funds for 2021 can be disbursed quickly (…) All the difficulties are gone. We have made it clear that the disbursement will take place,” announced shortly before the president of the European Commission (EC ), Ursula Von der Leyen, during her first official visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.
The financial aid had been frozen last year due to a dispute over the proposals of the European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, the Hungarian Olivér Várhelyi, who asked to make the delivery of this money conditional on educational reform, including the demand that the ANP change the content of Palestinian textbooks, considering that they include anti-Semitic content.
Von der Leyen did not explain what agreement the Commission would have reached to unlock the funds.
But the move had a dramatic effect on Palestinian citizens. As a result of that decision, for example, dozens of low-income patients stopped receiving medical care for cancer treatment at the Augusta Victoria hospital in East Jerusalem.
Good to be in Ramallah to meet PM @DrStayyeh.#TeamEurope is the largest donor of support to the Palestinian people.
We’ll discuss how to boost economic, social development, including access to clean water, reliable energy supply and food security. https://t.co/NkKJstvMra
– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 14, 2022
The only economic assistance that Brussels did not withdraw was the 80 million euros per year allocated to the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).
The EU promises another 25 million euros for food security in the Palestinian territories
During his visit to Ramallah, in the West Bank, von der Leyen also announced that the EU had agreed to provide 25 million euros to “improve Palestinian food security”, amid the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine, which has affected the global grain supply.
The German diplomat stressed that it is also necessary for the European and Palestinian authorities to address medium and long-term measures that reduce the food dependency of the Palestinians and improve their own capacity to produce food.
The European Commission, which contributes some 300 million euros a year along with other European states and institutions that provide a similar amount, are the largest donors to the Palestinian territories, which have faced increasing financial constraints amid decades of conflict. Israeli-Palestinian.
Very good exchange with President @Isaac_Herzog
🇪🇺🇮🇱 are closely connected through our history, shared values and great cooperation.
Let’s build on this and make our partnership even stronger.
You can count on me personally to protect and promote the values we both hold dear. pic.twitter.com/ISMsWImdBI
– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 14, 2022
On this official trip, von der Leyen also met Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in Jerusalem, where he welcomed the prospect of further cooperation on energy supply and warned of the danger of food problems as a result of the ongoing conflict launched by Moscow against its neighboring country.
With Reuters and EFE
#announces #unblocking #financial #aid #Palestinian #territories