France and Spain oppose suspending aid for Palestinians

France and Spain have rejected the proposed suspension of European Union aid to the Palestinian territories after the EU said it was reviewing development after Hamas' surprise operation against Israel. (Photo/Reuters Archive)

France said it was against suspending aid that "directly" benefits the Palestinians.

Hungary's Oliver Varhelyi, the EU commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, had said that support had already been suspended, although the bloc later clarified that this was not the case.

France is "not in favour of suspending aid which directly benefits the Palestinian populations", its foreign ministry said, adding that it had "made this known to the EU Commission".

Last year, France contributed 95 million euros ($101 million) in aid to the Palestinians in Hamas-controlled Gaza, occupied East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank run by the Palestinian Authority, and refugee camps in neighbouring countries.

"This aid is focused on supporting the Palestinian populations, in water, health, food security and education," added the ministry.

Distributed through the United Nations, it "directly benefits the Palestinian people" and is "fully in line with the engagements of France", the ministry added.

In a social media post, Varhelyi said 691 million euros in aid had been suspended pending a review of EU support for Palestinians.

Spain also opposes aid suspension

Spain also opposes the proposed suspension of EU aid to the Palestinian territories, the Spanish Acting Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Tuesday.

Indeed, Palestinian territories will likely need more aid in the near future after Hamas' Saturday attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent bombardment of Gaza, he said.

EU foreign ministers will meet to discuss the issue soon.

Even though countries such as Austria have announced the end of funding to Palestinian territories, others such as Spain consider the aid flow crucial for the civilian population.

Suspending aid would be "counterproductive", Albares said.

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Source: TRT