EU to Issue Final Decision on Financial Aid Disbursement to PA ‘Soon’

European Union flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman
European Union flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman
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EU to Issue Final Decision on Financial Aid Disbursement to PA ‘Soon’

European Union flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman
European Union flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman

Palestinian officials hope the European Union will soon issue a decision to disburse assistance to Palestine and overcome an objection by Hungary, which has conditioned the funding to education sector reforms.

Advisor to the Prime Minister for Planning and Aid Coordination Estephan Salameh said an EU commission meeting will soon be held during which a final decision will be taken.

Speaking to the official Palestinian radio, Salameh expressed hope that the EU’s 27 members would pass the decision without any condition.

EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi has been leading the efforts to delay the disbursement of 214 million euros to the Palestinian Authority over the long-running textbook controversy.

He visited Ramallah and discussed with senior PA officials ways to advance the implementation of the EU plan in the Mediterranean region.

He called for changes to be made to Palestinian textbooks and for reforms in Palestinian institutions as well.

There’s an internal row in the Commission about a proposal to make funding for the PA conditional on securing changes to Palestinian school textbooks, which critics say contain anti-Semitic tropes and incitements to violence.

The PA has pressured its allies in the EU to receive the aid and overcome the current financial crisis.

In March, the EU failed to resolve the issue and referred the matter to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

Salameh said the delay is only temporary due to lack of consensus in the bloc on the aid disbursement.

The PA relies on the funds to overcome the months-long financial crisis caused by the pandemic, Israel’s deduction of Palestinian tax funds and the drop in external financial aids.



Tunisia Activists Launch Gaza-bound Convoy in 'Symbolic Act'

 Tunisians gather at a meeting point in Tunis on June 9, 2025, ahead of the departure of a land convoy named “Steadfastness” to break the siege on Gaza. (AFP)
Tunisians gather at a meeting point in Tunis on June 9, 2025, ahead of the departure of a land convoy named “Steadfastness” to break the siege on Gaza. (AFP)
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Tunisia Activists Launch Gaza-bound Convoy in 'Symbolic Act'

 Tunisians gather at a meeting point in Tunis on June 9, 2025, ahead of the departure of a land convoy named “Steadfastness” to break the siege on Gaza. (AFP)
Tunisians gather at a meeting point in Tunis on June 9, 2025, ahead of the departure of a land convoy named “Steadfastness” to break the siege on Gaza. (AFP)

Hundreds of people, mainly Tunisians, launched on Monday a land convoy bound for Gaza, seeking to "break the siege" on the Palestinian territory, activists said.

Organizers said the nine-bus convoy was not bringing aid into Gaza, but rather aimed at carrying out a "symbolic act" by breaking the blockade on the territory described by the United Nations as "the hungriest place on Earth".

The "Soumoud" convoy, meaning "steadfastness" in Arabic, includes doctors and aims to arrive in Rafah, in southern Gaza, "by the end of the week", activist Jawaher Channa told AFP.

It is set to pass through Libya and Egypt, although Cairo has yet to provide passage permits, she added.

"We are about a thousand people, and we will have more join us along the way," said Channa, spokeswoman of the Tunisian Coordination of Joint Action for Palestine, the group organizing the caravan.

"Egypt has not yet given us permission to cross its borders, but we will see what happens when we get there," she said.

Channa said the convoy was not set to face issues crossing Libya, "whose people have historically supported the Palestinian cause", despite recent deadly clashes in the country that remains divided between two governments.

Algerian, Mauritanian, Moroccan and Libyan activists were also among the group, which is set to travel along the Tunisian and Libyan coasts, before continuing on to Rafah through Egypt.

After 21 months of war, Israel is facing mounting international pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies.

On June 1, the Madleen aid boat, boarded by activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and European parliament member Franco-Palestinian Rima Hassan, set sail for Gaza from Italy.

But on Monday morning Israel intercepted it, preventing it from reaching the Palestinian territory.

The UN has warned that the Palestinian territory's entire population is at risk of famine.