Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Belgium will not suspend humanitarian aid to Palestinians
Belgium will not suspend humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territories, Caroline Gennez, minister for Development Cooperation, said on Radio 1 on Monday.
Belgium will continue to follow the situation closely, she said. The country will further define its position in consultation with other EU member states.
Gennez stressed that Belgium does not provide aid directly to the Palestinian Authority or Hamas but to the local population, "to the people who need it", through local partners. Belgium has pledged 70 million euros over five years.
Suspended payments
On Monday, European Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi announced that the European Union had suspended all payments of its development aid to the Palestinians and decided to re-evaluate all its current programmes, totalling 691 million euros.
Germany also announced that it would temporarily suspend development aid to the Palestinian territories and review its aid commitment. The decision means "that aid will not be provided at the moment while the review is being carried out. But it does not mean that aid will be stopped permanently," a spokesperson for the German Development ministry said.
© BELGA PHOTO BENOIT DOPPAGNE
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