The European Union, one of the biggest donors to the Palestinian people, has suspended all development funding after Hamas militants broke out of the Gaza Strip and launched a series of attacks on Israel. Meanwhile, an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers is to be held on Tuesday.
The EU has condemned "in the strongest possible terms" the unprecedented attack by Hamas on Saturday, which provoked a barrage of strikes on Gaza by Israel.
"The scale of terror and brutality against Israel and its people is a turning point. There can be no business as usual," said Olivér Várhelyi, commissioner for the EU neighbourhood and enlargement.
Announcing the decision on social media on Monday afternoon, he said that all payments would be immediately suspended, all projects put under review and all funding proposals postponed until further notice.
In total €691 million of aid will be affected by the decision, Várhelyi said.
•All payments immediately suspended.
— Oliver Varhelyi (@OliverVarhelyi) October 9, 2023
•All projects put under review.
•All new budget proposals, incl. for 2023 postponed until further notice.
•Comprehensive assessment of the whole portfolio.
It comes after Germany and Austria each announced they were halting their bilateral assistance to the Palestinians, which is worth €125 million and €19 million respectively.
In contrast, Italy's foreign ministry confirmed on Monday that it would continue humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territories.
Luxembourg's acting foreign minister Jean Asselborn insisted that his government did not support the suspension of aid.
"Two million people live in Gaza. They are also hostages of Hamas. With these methods, we push them into the arms of terrorists," he said.
"We are the largest donor to Gaza. This help is important for young people. This is not money for Hamas. It is for the people of Gaza," he told French news agency AFP.
Emergency talks
The question of funding is set to come up at an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers on Tuesday.
The EU's high representative for foreign policy, Josep Borrell, announced on Monday that he would convene urgent talks to address the conflict.
"There can be no justification for anyone to target innocent civilians, ever," Borrell wrote on social media.
3000 young people were out celebrating at a festival, when they were ambushed. It is now clear that 260 of them were brutally murdered by Hamas. Others were taken hostage by the terrorists.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) October 9, 2023
There can be no justification for anyone to target innocent civilians, ever.
Tuesday's meeting is intended "to discuss the implications and consequences" of the crisis, a spokesman told the Wall Street Journal.
Millions of euros
Brussels allocated nearly €300 million of assistance to the Palestinians last year alone, much of it going into essential services such as healthcare, social assistance, salaries for civil servants and development projects.
The EU, which designates Hamas a terrorist organisation, does not give any funding to the group. Instead the aid goes to the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, as well as non-governmental organisations and other development partners.
In Gaza, controlled by Hamas, the EU channels its funding through the United Nations.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday ordered a "complete siege" of the Gaza Strip, blocking the entry of food and fuel into the enclave and cutting the electricity and water supply.
Flights suspended
Several European nationals are believed to be among more than 1,200 people killed in the fighting so far.
France has confirmed the death of two French citizens and is seeking to locate others whose whereabouts remain unknown. According to Radio France, seven French people have been reported missing.
Poland sent two military planes to Israel to begin evacuating around 200 of its nationals on Monday, while Greece says it is seeking to help around 150 Greek tourists get home.
Meanwhile European airlines including Air France, Aegean, Austrian Airlines, Iberia Express, ITA Airways and Lufthansa have suspended their flights to Israel.
Arab League foreign ministers said they will meet Wednesday to discuss the situation.
The "extraordinary meeting" in Cairo will seek to find "avenues of political action at the Arab and international level", Arab League deputy chief Hossam Zaki said in a statement on Monday.
