EU Backtracks on Suspending Aid to Palestine

It turns out that the EU didn’t just all of a sudden decide to end all humanitarian aid to Palestine.

This was all part of a hilarious ruse by a Hungarian to humiliate the EU.

The Guardian:

EU foreign ministers have reversed the decision by the European Commission to suspend payments to the Palestinian Authority, after an emergency meeting in Oman.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s chief diplomat, said the “overwhelming majority” of EU states were in favour of continued support, adding the funds would “not be cancelled”.

He also said some of Israel’s actions in response to the Hamas attack at the weekend breached international law. Israel has launched airstrikes from land and sea on the Gaza Strip and pledged to enforce a total siege on the densely populated territory.

“Israel has the right to defend [itself] but it has to be done accordingly with international law, humanitarian law, and some decisions are contrary to international law,” Borrell said after a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in Muscat.

“Some of the actions – and the United Nations has already said that – [such] as cutting water, cutting electricity, cutting food to a mass of civilian people is against international law,” Borrell said.

Tuesday’s decision to maintain funding came after the EU was forced to backpedal after the commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, unexpectedly declared that the 27-nation bloc was immediately suspending “all payments” to the Palestinians. The Hungarian commissioner has long been a critic of aspects of EU aid to Palestine, but it appears he acted without any legal authority or sufficient political support.

Haha.

Things are not looking great for Gaza, overall.

The Jews are saying they’re going to kill everyone there. They presumably will do that. Then the entire Islamic world will want revenge.