Brussels: The European Union on Friday agreed on an aid scheme for Palestinians bypassing the Hamas-led government and said it was close to winning the backing of the United States and other peace brokers.
"The European Council has endorsed our proposal for a temporary international mechanism," European Commission spokeswoman Emma Udwin told a news briefing in Brussels.
Udwin said the EU's executive had proposed providing 100 million euros (about Dh464 million) for the mechanism, but she could not give a figure for its overall cost. She said the EU was now "very, very close" to getting the endorsement of the Mideast Quartet the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union.
The plan covers essential supplies to the health sector and payments to health-care services providers, utilities including fuel, and cash allowances to cover the basic needs of the poorest sections of the population.
Both the EU and the United States suspended aid to the Palestinian National Authority when Hamas refused to recognise Israel and failed to renounce violence but they recognised last month an emergency scheme was needed to prevent the Palestinian territories sliding into chaos.
Plea for more donations
The EU urged other donors, including Arab states, to "consider early and substantial contributions". The fund will be managed by the World Bank and the EU working with the office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "We Europeans are determined to play our part in preventing a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territories," said EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who will head to the Middle East on Monday to present the plan.
The plan provoked angry criticism from Hamas. "This is regrettable," said Information Minister Yousuf Rizka, who said the Europeans had bowed to US pressure to follow a "hostile policy" that aimed to divide Palestinians.
The moderate Palestinian leadership hailed the EU package. "Any aid to the Palestinian people is welcome," chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said.
How it works: Scheme to bypass Hamas-led government
The EU package is divided into three parts:
- One "window" would involve extending a programme operated through the World Bank which provides essential supplies to the health sector, including money for those who work in hospitals and clinics.
- The second would reinforce an emergency relief scheme started by the EU's executive European Commission earlier this year, and which ensures the supply of essential utilities like fuel.
- The third which is more contentious and likely to take effect later would see funds paid directly into the bank accounts of as-yet unidentified people based on their needs.
