The European Commission has asserted that there is no evidence of EU aid to Palestine being diverted to “unintended purposes”, despite having limited resources on the ground to make such a determination and a history of European money funding antisemitic Hamas propaganda in Palestinian schools.
An audit of financial aid to Palestine, launched by the executive arm of the European Union days after the mass slaughter terror attacks on October 7th, has claimed that “controls and existing safeguards in place- which have been significantly strengthened in the past years – work well,” to prevent money from flowing to the Hamas terrorists who have been in control the Gaza Strip since a coup in 2007.
The EU, which is the largest international financial backer of Palestine, went on to claim that “no evidence has been found to date that money has been diverted for unintended purposes.”
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen said: “After the terrible events of 7 October, a careful review of our financial assistance was necessary. This review has confirmed that the safeguards in place are effective. Work is now ongoing on the design of our future support to the Palestinians in view of the changing and still evolving situation.”
The Commission said that in light of the current conflict, it has identified €75.6 ($82.5/£66) million earmarked for “non-feasible projects” and therefore the money would be directed to “new priorities” such as infrastructure projects including ‘Gas for Gaza’ and a water desalination plant.
Brussels has committed approximately €691 million ($728/£597 million) to Palestine this year, with €1.18 billion expected to be sent to the territory by 2024.
Some have questioned the legitimacy of the review, given that it was largely reliant upon self-reporting from their partners on the ground who were requested to “provide information about their control mechanisms in place.”
Swedish Member of European Parliament David Lega called for an “independent review of the aid to [Palestinian Authority] to make sure that money is not being misused in the future.”
Lega highlighted the scandal of EU funding being directed towards the production of antisemitic textbooks used in Palestinian schools, which the European Parliament has even admitted contributed to the rise of terrorism among Palestinians.
The EU has long faced criticism for funding such books, which have been found to have glorified jihad and Palestinian terrorists while denigrating Jewish people and the state of Israel.
“The schoolbooks are one of many, many examples of EU money being misused – for ‘unintended purposes’,” Lega said.
Last month, Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat accused the EU of being complicit in the October 7th terror attacks over the funding of antisemitic textbooks.
“Those textbooks are the root of the Palestinian terror against Israelis. Young people are being taught, educated, to hate Jews and to murder Jews,” Haiat said.
