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The European Commission confirmed €82 million in funding to the Palestinian Authority after the first meeting of the Palestine Donor Group in Brussels. However, this funding has already been pledged by four EU member states – Germany, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Spain – and no further commitments were made at the meeting, despite the European Commission’s efforts to engage non-EU countries.
The contributions will be routed through the Palestine-European socio-economic management and assistance mechanism Pegas, which aims to link European spending to specific reforms and control the final destination of the funds.
The Palestine Donor Group was established by the Commission to engage EU and non-EU states to finance economic recovery and stabilization efforts in the West Bank.
More than 60 delegates from around the world took part in this week’s meeting, said Dubravka Šuica, the European Commission’s representative for the Mediterranean. Despite some countries expressing interest in the mechanism, no concrete commitments for new funding could be made. Šuica said the mechanism “welcomes contributions from partners.”
“Switzerland, New Zealand, Norway and the Turkiye countries, which are not members of the European Union, look forward to the commitment to use this mechanism that is managed and ensures that funds go to the right place,” she told reporters at a post-meeting press conference.
Questions about accusations by the Palestinian Authority reward Regarding the families of Palestinians killed or imprisoned by Israel – what Israeli authorities are said to have described as “the price of killing” – Commissioner Shuika said: “Not a single euro of European funds has been spent on these disputed payments.”
The total amount pledged this year through the Pegas mechanism amounts to more than €88 million, taking into account previous contributions from Finland, Ireland, Italy and Spain. The European Commission estimates that the total amount of EU aid given to the Palestinian Authority since 1994 is almost €30 billion.
“Israel must take responsibility.”
The Palestinian aid group is co-chaired by Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, who used the opportunity to condemn the Israeli occupation and what he deemed “acts against the Palestinian Authority.”
Mustafa and Commissioner Shuika emphasized the importance of publicly disclosing the tax revenue that Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority but has not transferred to the Palestinians since April last year.
“No government can sustain reforms if denied its own revenues. The current fiscal crisis is politically motivated. Israel’s withholding of Palestinian clearance revenues threatens salaries, continuity of service, and stability in both Gaza and the West,” Mustafa said.
The Palestinian prime minister also called for Israel to be held accountable for war damage in the Gaza Strip.
“Israel must take responsibility for what happened and make a significant, if not complete, contribution to repair and reconstruction efforts.”
Commissioner Schuika did not express a position on this point despite questions from Euronews.
He hailed the US-led UN Security Council resolution on the Gaza peace plan as a “huge step towards moving peace forward”, but it is not yet clear whether he will win a seat on the EU’s proposed Peace Council.
The EU’s broader goal for the region remains a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.