The European Union has suspended a payment of $42 million to the Palestinian Authority.
The European Union has suspended 35 million euros ($42 million) in aid to the Palestinians, citing their lack of budgetary discipline, the EU’s commissioner for external relations said on Tuesday.
The rare sanction underscored intensified foreign donor scrutiny on the Palestinian Authority since Israel quit the Gaza Strip last year after 38 years of occupation. The impoverished territory is widely seen as a testing ground for statehood. Visiting the region ahead of Palestinian legislative elections on January 25, the EU commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, said half of 70 million euros ($84 million) donated through the World Bank in November has not been released, and that the issue was under discussion.
“The biggest donor is the European Commission, and we have not paid because the benchmarks have not been fulfilled,” she told reporters.
1 comment:
My prefered solution of course is for Isreal to relocate to a similarly sized spot. Due to the enormous economic benefits, I am certain that some habitable locale would welcome having Isreal located there. Then the Palistinians could do whatever they want. Prior to the advances now in Iraq, I would have been certain that an Isreali-free Palistine would instantly evolve into dreadful tyrany, similar to any other Arab nation. Perhaps now a democracy would occur.
In the real world, where Isreal insists on existing where it does, I see no benefit to paying for the Palistinian government, such as it is.
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