France against completely suspending EU aid for Palestinians

BERLIN

France has turned down calls to completely suspend European aid for the Palestinian people, as the war between Hamas and Israel entered its fourth day.

“We are not in favor of suspending aid that directly benefits the Palestinian people,” French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters, after a joint French-German Cabinet meeting in Hamburg.

He said a review was already underway to ensure that their humanitarian assistance, intended for the Palestinian population, was not used to finance Hamas’ activities.

“The aid is used for providing water, health services, food, and education for the civilian population,” he said.

Macron underlined that measures against terrorism should not undermine efforts to support the civil population and address their basic humanitarian needs.

“I am indeed in favor of reviewing all the aid provided by Europe, but I am not in favor of suspending these completely," he said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, for his part, said they are confident that their financial assistance is not going to Hamas, but after recent developments in the region, they will take a closer look at these aid programs for the Palestinians.

“We are talking about humanitarian assistance, provided also in areas far away from the recent incidents, so that people can have water and food,” he said, pointing out that humanitarian projects were carried out not only in Gaza, but also in the West Bank, and also in some neighboring countries.

“But at the same time, we must ensure that through these assistance programs, no structure is supported that has anything to do with terrorism. We are confident that this is not the case, but we must look at these again after these developments,” he added.

Palestinian group Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel early Saturday, firing a barrage of rockets and infiltrating Israel by land, air, and sea. It said the surprise attack was in response to the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and increased settler violence against Palestinians.

In retaliation, the Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza has risen to 765, including at least 143 children and 105 women, the Gaza-based Health Ministry said early Tuesday. It said the number of wounded has risen to over 4,000.

More than 1,000 Israelis have been killed and over 2,600 others wounded in the fighting, according to the Israeli Health Ministry.