The European Commissioner's statement on the cessation of aid caused a storm of protests
The EU seems to have backed down on the issue of freezing payments to Palestinian aid. Oliver Várhelyi's earlier statement raised eyebrows among member states, including Ireland and Spain.
The European Union found itself embroiled in a diplomatic row after announcing the suspension of “all payments” Palestinians as a result of Hamas attacks on Israel, which led to clashes with several member states, including Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands.
According to The Guardian, after six hours of searching for an explanation, the European Commission appears to have backed down on a statement made by Neighborhood and Enlargement Commissioner Olivier Várhelyi, saying: “There will be no suspension of payments.” But the European Commission only further confused the situation by declaring that “no payments are expected.”
The EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, who is in Oman for a summit with Gulf countries, insisted that Humanitarian aid to the Palestinians will not be suspended.
“Suspension of payments – punishment of the entire Palestinian people – would damage EU interests in the region and would only further embolden terrorists”, – he said.
The scandal erupted after European Commissioner Várhelyi announced on Monday afternoon that “all payments are suspended with immediate effect” and “all projects have been put under review”.
“There can be no reason to carry on business as usual, – said the politician. – As the largest donor to the Palestinians, the European Commission is reviewing its entire portfolio of development projects totaling €691 million.
The announcement caught many EU member states by surprise, with many questioning how humanitarian aid could have been suspended precisely at the moment when Israel cut off Gaza from a “total siege”.
Ireland and Luxembourg questioned the announcement, embarrassing European Commission officials, who indicated that any funding decisions would be taken at an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers on Tuesday.
“We saw the tweet posted today afternoon by Commissioner Várhelyi… We understand that there is no legal basis for a unilateral decision of this kind by an individual commissioner, and we do not expect assistance to be suspended”, – said a Foreign Office spokesman in Dublin.
Madrid and Brussels also expressed reservations, and Belgium announced that humanitarian assistance would continue. “It is important that we do not act hastily”” the Belgians said in a statement.
A source in the Spanish Foreign Ministry said that the European Commissioner's decision «caused concern in the Spanish government.» The country's Foreign Minister José Manuel Albarez called Várhelyi «to express his disagreement with this decision» and asked to include it on the agenda of an emergency meeting of foreign ministers in Oman on Tuesday.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was asked whether humanitarian aid from the Netherlands would be suspended.
“There is no doubt about it at this point, “ Rutte said, adding that the EU did not finance Hamas in any way. – We really need to make a distinction between Hamas, a terrorist organization, and the innocent Palestinians who are the same victims right now, and again, in the case of Gaza, have been for 16 years. And they are forced to live under the yoke of a terrible terrorist regime”, – he said.
After hours passed without any explanation, another commissioner was forced to reassure critics that civilians in Gaza had not been abandoned to their fate in the face of Israel's energy and food blockade. “EU humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in need will continue as long as needed”, – Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarcic tweeted.
After six hours without any explanation for Varhelyi's tweet, the EU finally issued a statement confirming that it was launching an “urgent review of EU aid to Palestine”. “The purpose of this review – ensure that no EU funding indirectly enables any terrorist organization to carry out attacks against Israel”, – it says.
The EU appeared to back down on Varhelyi's statement that the funds would be frozen, but also noted that «no payments are expected» at this time, without providing any details about about what payments are in question.
Ireland said 80% of Palestinians rely on international aid to survive, with the European Commission's humanitarian aid department (ECHO) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs since 2000 Issues (OCHA) provided humanitarian aid worth €700 million to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.