EU to Resume Financial Aid to Palestinian Authority

A Palestinian woman during protests at the entrance to Al-Aqsa (AFP)
A Palestinian woman during protests at the entrance to Al-Aqsa (AFP)
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EU to Resume Financial Aid to Palestinian Authority

A Palestinian woman during protests at the entrance to Al-Aqsa (AFP)
A Palestinian woman during protests at the entrance to Al-Aqsa (AFP)

The European Union office in Jerusalem said that financial aid provided by the EU to the Palestinian Authority will be resumed within weeks.

Spokesman for the European Union office in Jerusalem Shadi Othman said the EU will spend in the coming weeks part of the financial pledges to the PA to help pay part of the salaries of public employees.

The EU's support will now resume following months of suspension.

Othman said that the Palestinian government is facing unprecedented financial difficulties.

This step came following the visit of Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh to several European countries last week.

Shtayyeh's visit included Brussels, the EU headquarters, Luxembourg, and Scotland.

The EU usually provides €300 million in aid annually, but this has decreased drastically since last year.

In the past weeks, the EU disbursed an essential payment of €92 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which is also suffering from a financial crisis due to the siege imposed by the administration of former US President Donald Trump.

The Palestine Liberation Organization and Head of the Refugee Affairs Department Ahmed Abu Houli said that the preparations are ongoing to guarantee the success of the UNRWA donors conference, which is scheduled on Nov. 16 in Brussels.

The UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees announced Friday it was seeking $800 million at a donor conference, according to UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.

To fund UNRWA's "three core activities" -- education, health, and social services -- "we are seeking $800 million a year," he said.

The funding would allow the agency to keep open the 700 or so schools it managed, catering to 550,000 children, as well as health centers and to provide social welfare to Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

In addition to the $800 million, Lazzarini said there was also a need for funds for the humanitarian aid provided by UNRWA, which varies from one year to the next, depending on the crisis, but which the agency estimates will be around half a million dollars in 2022.



Constitutional Path for Aoun’s Presidential Election in Lebanon

Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun (Reuters)
Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun (Reuters)
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Constitutional Path for Aoun’s Presidential Election in Lebanon

Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun (Reuters)
Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun (Reuters)

Gen. Joseph Aoun currently leads the race for Lebanon's presidency, but some warn his election could be unconstitutional because he holds a “Class A” position, requiring his resignation two years before running.
However, his supporters point to the 2008 election of Gen. Michel Suleiman, who was also army commander at the time, as a precedent. They argue the reasons given for Suleiman’s election should apply to Aoun as well.
At the time, Speaker Nabih Berri argued that the support of over 86 lawmakers for Suleiman made his election constitutional, as any constitutional amendment requires 86 votes.
MP Gebran Bassil, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, continues to argue that Aoun’s election is unconstitutional under the current process.
He recently stated that constitutional amendments require a president, a functioning parliament, and a fully empowered government. The process also needs two steps: a two-thirds majority in the first vote and a three-quarters majority in the second.
Bassil’s argument is based on Articles 76 and 77 of the constitution, which say amendments can only be proposed by the president or parliament, but only during a regular session — which ended in December.
Dr. Paul Morcos, head of the “JUSTICIA” legal foundation in Beirut, told Asharq Al-Awsat that in 2008, parliament used Article 74 of the constitution to bypass the amendment to Article 49.
He explained that Gen. Suleiman’s election was considered an exception to the rule requiring military officials to resign six months before running for president, due to the presidential vacancy after President Emile Lahoud’s term ended in 2007.
Morcos added that the same reasoning could apply to Gen. Aoun’s potential election as president.