Brussels concludes that "there is no evidence" that EU aid to Palestine has ended up in the hands of Hamas

The EU does not finance Hamas. That is the conclusion that Brussels has reached after a study carried out that began after the terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7.. “After reviewing our financial aid to Palestine, to date no evidence has been found that the money has been diverted for unintended purposes. The EU remains the largest donor to the Palestinians, and work is now underway on our future support taking into account that the situation continues to evolve,” summarizes the European Commission in a statement issued this Tuesday.. In this way, he closes the door that he opened at the beginning of the climb.

This avenue began to be explored amid controversy in the days after the attacks, when even the European Commissioner for Neighborhood, the Hungarian Oliver Varhelyi, assured that aid to the Palestinians was going to be cut, something for which it had to be corrected by several colleagues and by Ursula von der Leyen herself in the following hours, also explaining the difference between two types of support: humanitarian aid and development aid.

Now the review “has shown that the Commission's controls and existing safeguards – which have been considerably strengthened in recent years – work well and to date no evidence has been found that funds have been diverted for unintended purposes”, summary from Brussels.

The review followed a two-phase approach, develops the Commission. Firstly, “an operational selection was carried out to assess the feasibility of the projects in light of the new situation on the ground”. In this step, the review has identified a list of non-viable projects amounting to €75.6 million, which will be reprogrammed in support of the Palestinians in light of new priorities identified on the ground.. These are mainly large infrastructure projects, such as Gas for Gaza, the Gaza desalination plant and access to water services, the implementation of which is not viable in the current context.

As part of the second stage, the Commission carried out a risk assessment, for which all implementing partners were asked to provide information on the control mechanisms available to them.. In the current context, the Commission has identified some additional measures, such as including relevant contractual anti-incitement clauses in all new contracts and ensuring monitoring of their strict application at all times.. This could be carried out, in particular, by third-party control of the beneficiaries.

A careful review of our financial aid was necessary. This review has confirmed that the safeguards in place are effective

Although additional information is being collected from all grant recipients and organizations evaluated based on the pillars in order to assess whether possible adjustments are necessary, the Community Executive recalls, “continued support will continue to be provided to organizations that have provided the requested clarifications and assurances on the safeguards applied, in particular the agencies of the EU Member States and the international financial institutions.”

In this context, they add, “the beneficiaries subject to accusations of inciting hatred and violence following the events of October 7, 2023 were asked to comment on the accusations brought against them. “This especially affects two projects with civil society organizations.”. Payments, the Commission concludes, will be processed once satisfactory clarifications have been provided, in accordance with the Financial Regulation.

Von der Leyen herself has celebrated the analysis made from Brussels after the attacks that have led to the largest escalation in decades, with the focus also on Israel's reaction, for many voices in the excessive EU. “A careful review of our financial aid was necessary. This review has confirmed that the safeguards in place are effective. “We are now working on the design of our future support for the Palestinians taking into account the changing and still evolving situation,” concluded the German leader.