Brussels: Following Hamas’ attack on Israel, the European Commission announced on Monday that it was reviewing all of its development funding to the Palestinians, totaling 691 million euros ($729 million). They immediately halted all payments.
EU freezes aid payments for Palestinians: In a statement on social media, Oliver Varhelyi, the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, stated that “the scale of terror and brutality against Israel and its people is a turning point.” “There can be no more doing business as usual.”
In the bloodiest such raid since the Yom Kippur war fifty years ago, Hamas killed 700 Israelis and kidnapped hundreds, leading Israel to strike back with its heaviest-ever shelling of Gaza, which has killed over 400 Palestinians.
Varhelyi has tabled all new budget requests for aid to the Palestinians until further notice.
“Now is the time to address the foundations for peace, tolerance, and coexistence,” he stated.
“Too many minds have been poisoned by incitement to hatred, violence, and glorification of terror,” he continued. “We must take immediate action.”
In response to the attack on Israel, Austria announced earlier on Monday that it was suspending aid worth tens of millions of euros to the Palestinians in order to prevent money from going into the wrong hands, and Germany said it was reconsidering its support.