The European Union (EU) has continued to provide financial aid to the Palestinians, but with stricter conditions in the wake of the Gaza war. Following a brutal Hamas attack on Israel that left 1,200 dead and around 240 abducted on October 7th, the EU submitted its Report on aid amounting to 331 million euros for the current year. No European funds went directly or indirectly to the radical Islamic Hamas, but there is suspicion that some recipients may have taken part in hate speech and “glorification of terror.” Brussels demanded further information from local partners about a further 39 million euros.
Aid worth 75 million euros for the Gaza Strip was classified as “unfeasible” and should be reallocated. The EU sees itself as the largest supporter of the Palestinians worldwide, with total aid in the period 2021 to 2024 amounting to almost 1.2 billion euros. However, humanitarian aid was not affected by the review. Germany and other member states also put their national aid to the test after the Hamas attack on Israel, with the federal government recently releasing a good 90 million euros for the Gaza Strip and Jordan. The review for other areas should “soon be completed,” as State Secretary in the Federal Development Ministry, Jochen Flasbarth, said on the sidelines of an EU meeting in Brussels.
