On Monday, 9 October, EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, revealed plans to review the €691 million Palestinian aid programme. This announcement was unexpected and was met with objections from Spain, Luxembourg, Denmark and Ireland.
Palestinian aid efforts are polarising EU member states as many nations of the EU have formally and publicly declared support for Israel amidst the recently declared war.
“Our understanding is that there is no legal basis for a unilateral decision of this kind by an individual Commissioner and we do not support a suspension of aid” a spokesman from the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed to The Irish Times.
France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, and the United States — We express our steadfast and united support to the State of Israel, and our unequivocal condemnation of Hamas and its appalling acts of terrorism.
Here is our joint statement.…
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 9, 2023
Later on Monday the Commission for Neighbourhood and Enlargement stated the Palestinian aid agreement currently has no foreseeable payments but clarified that “there will be no suspension of payments” either. In the same press release, the Commission added its motives stating “the objective of this review is to ensure that no EU funding indirectly enables any terrorist organization to carry out attacks against Israel”.
Solidarity with Israel. pic.twitter.com/6YoIHRugUF
— European Commission (@EU_Commission) October 7, 2023
A meeting is due to take place in the afternoon of Tuesday, 10 October, as announced by High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell Fontelles. Invites to attend the meeting have been extended to the Foreign Ministers of both Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Tánaiste Micheál Martin is expected to attend. It is speculated by numerous EU officials that a consensus will be difficult to achieve.
The European Commissioner for Crisis Management, in charge of European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid, Janez Lenarčič, calls for “EU humanitarian aid to [Palestiniansa] in need [to] continue as long as needed” in a post from his personal account social media account on the website X, formerly Twitter. In the same post, he condemned the attacks from Hamas, stating the importance of “protecting civilians” at this time.
State of Play
The Commission’s announcement comes just as Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, commanded a “complete siege” on Gaza. This will result in suspending electricity supply and prevent food and fuel from entering the area.
The current death toll of the conflict, now in its third day, is above 1,600, according to the latest reports.
Just under 60% of the approximately 2.3 million Palestinians living in Gaza are deemed to live in poverty, according to the World Bank and international aid and assistance is deemed necessary for their survival.
The UN confirmed over 180,000 of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have left their homes. This is the greatest mass migration from the regions since 2014: within the first day of this conflict, Hamas launched more rockets than in the entire first month of the conflict nine years ago. At that time in 2014, nearly 400,000 left the region of Gaza.
Humanitarian groups are scrambling to assist civilians caught in the war between Israel and Hamas, and to determine what aid operations are still safe to continue. The efforts are being complicated by an intensified blockade of Gaza and ongoing fighting. https://t.co/3Mej8eUh5W
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 10, 2023
Foreign Aid
In the event that future EU aid attempts cease, humanitarian aid is likely to come from other sources such as Egypt. The Egyptian Red Crescent has shipped urgent medical supplies to Gaza and food and other deliveries will be attempted.
On Monday, Austria took one of the most pro-Israeli positions in response to the Hamas attacks. Prior to this, Austria had approved aid sponsoring approximately €19 million on various Palestinians projects. This sponsorship is now suspended.
Germany appeared to hold the same position and have clarified that no aid payments were currently being made.
Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland, speaking to CNN condemned the siege and stated that cutting off “water, electricity, fuel… is going to amount to war crimes”. He agreed that the actions of Hamas amounted to war crimes against the civilians in Israel, also. His organisation has 52 volunteers currently working inside Gaza, who “desperately want to start relief work” but decried the “indiscriminate bombardment” and called for relief work to begin.
He continued that it cannot commence as calm would be needed for this to commence. He also called for the establishment of “humanitarian corridors” from Israel and safe zones. He condemned the threats of Hamas who are currently holding hundreds of hostages, comprising women, children and the elderly.
Despite the lack of formal, established safe passages, residents continued to attempt escape in droves of thousands. UN agencies for Palestinian refugees are offering refuge to more than 137,000 people in schools across the territory, as apartment blocks and homes remain uninhabitable.