Examining potential assistance for Palestinians residing in the West Bank by Germany
The Palestinian Authority is currently facing an unprecedented political and financial crisis, according to German Development Minister Reem Alabali Radovan. In an effort to alleviate this crisis, Radovan has proposed a €30 million emergency aid package for the Palestinian Authority.
Radovan made this proposal during a Middle East trip at the end of August, urging Israel to release withheld tax funds to the Palestinian Authority. Israel has been withholding these funds since May. The Oslo Peace Process in the 1990s agreed that Israel would collect taxes and customs in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip and transfer them to the Palestinian Authority.
If approved, the funds would be disbursed through a European Union mechanism and used to pay salaries in the health and education sectors in the West Bank. The European Union links its support for the Palestinian Authority through the PEGASE mechanism to reforms and sets rules for controlling the use of funds.
The German Development Ministry is in close coordination with the Federal Chancellery, the Federal Foreign Office, and the Federal Ministry of Finance regarding the proposed aid. However, a final decision on the aid package has not yet been made.
Alexander Hoffmann, CSU parliamentary group leader, has stressed that humanitarian aid should be clear about where the money will go and that projects threatening Israel's security should be explicitly ruled out. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) has already urged the Israeli government to continue transferring the tax funds that are legally due to the Palestinians.
Deputy government spokesman Sebastian Hille stated that they are waiting to see what happens in the Bundestag. Meanwhile, experts fear that the Islamic Hamas could capitalize politically on such a situation. A collapse of the Palestinian Authority, as warned by Radovan, could open the door to further instability in the West Bank.
Germany is examining additional financial aid for the Palestinian Authority's budget and discussing additional aid within the EU, as announced by Radovan. The exact time at which a final decision on the release of €30 million for emergency aid to the Palestinian Authority will be made has not been publicly specified.
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