Eduardo González
The acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, warned yesterday before his EU counterparts that there is a “very clear distinction” between the Palestinian people, the Palestinian Authority and the “terrorist organization” Hamas and expressed, therefore, his “total rejection” to the suspension of EU cooperation with Palestine.
Albares participated yesterday in the extraordinary EU Foreign Affairs Council, convened by the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, to address the situation in Israel and in the region following the terrorist attacks by the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas against Israel. During the meeting, held by videoconference, the 27 roundly condemned the Hamas attack and the violence against the civilian population and recognized Israel’s right to defend itself.
In this regard, Borrell warned yesterday, in statements from Oman (where he participated in the EU-Gulf Cooperation Council and from where he coordinated the extraordinary FAC), that “Israel has the right to defend itself, but it has to exercise it in accordance with international humanitarian law and some decisions go against international law”. The Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, ordered last Monday the “complete siege” on the Gaza Strip so that this territory, controlled by Hamas, does not receive electricity, fuel or food supplies.
At the meeting, the ministers discussed ways to continue cooperation with the Palestinian Authority and to support the Palestinian people. “We made a clear distinction between Hamas, the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority,” Borrell stated. “We consider Hamas a terrorist organization, but the Palestinian Authority is something else, the Palestinian Authority is our partner,” he continued. “Not all Palestinian people are terrorists, so a collective punishment against all Palestinians will be unjust and unproductive. It will go against our interests and the interests of peace,” he added.
An overwhelming majority of ministers stated that cooperation with the Palestinian Authority must continue and that EU funds should not be discontinued. Ministers therefore agreed that the EU will continue its engagement with all parties and maintain its financial and political support to the region. It will also ensure that its long-term commitment to a two-state political solution survives these tragic events.
The EU foreign ministers also agreed on the importance of close coordination with Arab partners to stabilize the situation and avoid regional escalation and urged a firm stance in defense of Lebanon’s stability in the face of increased hostilities on the border by the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah.
During his speech, as reported by the Ministry, Albares wanted to make “a very clear distinction” between the Palestinian population, the Palestinian Authority and the “terrorist organization” Hamas and expressed, as he did the day before, his “total rejection” of the suspension of EU cooperation with Palestine.
In this regard, he expressed his concern about the possibility that the review of cooperation programs announced by the European Union will become “a suspension of this support” and recalled that the Palestinian National Authority has been “a key partner for the European Union” and, therefore, any action that weakens it will only make things worse in the short, medium and long term.
“The Palestinian population depends on our support and, therefore, cutting it off would be totally counterproductive,” he warned. “We have a duty to the Palestinian population; we cannot abandon them,” continued the acting minister, who insisted on the importance of the Commission ensuring sufficient funding for the UN agency providing aid to Palestinian refugees in Gaza (UNRWA). According to Foreign Affairs, the “vast majority” of the ministers in attendance also agreed on the need to maintain cooperation with Palestine.
This past Monday, the European Commission announced an “urgent review of EU aid to Palestine” with the aim of “ensuring that no EU funding indirectly allows any terrorist organization to carry out attacks against Israel”. In any case, Brussels specified that, “as no payments are foreseen, they will not be suspended either” and assured that the review did not refer to “humanitarian assistance provided in the framework of the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO)”. The Commission also announced that it would carry out this review “as soon as possible” and would coordinate “with Member States and partners any further action that may be necessary”.
In this regard, Israel’s ambassador to Spain, Rodica Radian-Gordon, yesterday requested that the EU suspend aid to the Palestinians as a precautionary measure with a view to carrying out a “very careful” review to determine “where this money is going”. He also warned that some of this money is benefiting NGOs “connected to terrorist organizations,” including Hamas. “We have evidence that this money is helping to finance terrorist acts,” she declared during an interview with the Europa Press agency. According to the ambassador, Israel has always warned that, in addition to “totally legitimate” NGOs, there are “many” whose funds end up being diverted “to finance operations such as those we have seen these days.”
