The European Commission promised a substantial overhaul of its humanitarian finances after conservative MEPs shed light on several alarming issues in relation to EU funds disbursed to Gaza in the past during a hearing in the European Parliament’s Budgetary Control (CONT) committee last week.
According to the Commission’s written answers, provided to the MEPs before the hearing (and seen by The European Conservative), the European Union has transferred €681 million to the Palestinian Authority and the UNRWA (the UN agency active in Palestine) between 2021 and 2023—one-third, or about €225 million of which went directly to Gaza. On top of that, the EU “provided support for the Palestinian Authority’s recurrent expenditures,” specified as mainly salaries, pensions, and social allowances.
The most important thing all MEPs in the room wanted to know was how the Commission makes sure none of these funds end up funding—or even indirectly contributing to—terrorism-related activities. Especially given the large percentage of funds disbursed in Gaza, where Hamas has been in complete control for over one and a half decades.
“Hamas was called, recognized, and acknowledged as a terrorist organization. How was it possible to pour €225 million into a place that is fully controlled by a terrorist organization and nobody did anything or said anything?” Cristian Terheș (ECR) asked the Commission’s representative during his explosive speech. “It is absolutely absurd!”
“There is so much evidence, so much evidence that our money [given to the Palestinian Authority] is being misused in different ways, directly and indirectly … to support terrorist organizations,” Bert-Jan Ruissen (ECR) also added.
Now, despite the immense importance of the topic, only five MEPs—all right-wing—attended the hearing out of over 50, which was also noted by some of the speakers, calling the fact that their leftist colleagues don’t even care about how EU taxpayer funds are spent “outrageous.”
Nonetheless, the ones who did participate did not spare Neighborhood Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi the uncomfortable questions.
The business of martyrdom
Terheș, for instance, also brought up the so-called ‘pay for slay’ laws that are still in effect in the Palestinian Authority-controlled West Bank, under which the PA pays generous rewards and life-long pensions to militants (or their families) if they lose their lives or get convicted for terrorism against Israel—dubbed as “participation in the struggle against the occupation.”
In 2016, for instance, the PA handed out a total of $315 million, or 8% of its entire budget, under these schemes, and even had 500 civil servants on the payroll only to administer these funds. As the payments substantially increase with the length of the jail sentence (and, therefore, the severity of the crimes) and include special bonuses for becoming a “martyr” for the cause, the system is nothing but a giant incentive program for terrorism.
Since the Commission admitted that the EU was paying for pensions and salaries in the West Bank, Terheș asked, how does the Commission make sure that EU funds are not being used in this abhorrent scheme?
“We have a list to check that direct beneficiaries do not appear on any of the terrorist list,” Várhelyi replied, stressing that every person who receives their salary or pension from the EU is vetted independently, but also admitted that there might be a “possibility of indirect benefit for those who are involved in terrorist activities” or had been convicted for such acts, adding that this specific issue is being addressed by the Commission’s ongoing review.
Problematic textbooks
Another important question was related to the curriculum and staff of public schools in the West Bank, which are mostly funded through, and, in many cases, run by the UNRWA.
“We saw in the news that even some UN teachers in the Palestinian territories were cheering about the damage caused by Hamas,” Marian-Jean Marinescu (EPP) said, asking if the Commission was taking proper precautions before disbursing hundreds of millions to the UNRWA.
Terheș even brought a fifth-grade literature book from his recent trip to Palestine that was published this year by the PA’s Ministry of Education. Opening the book, the MEP showed everyone in the room a large picture of Dalal Mughrabi, a kidnapper and suicide bomber who killed 38 Israelis, including 13 children in 1978, and is still being celebrated as a martyr with dozens of schools bearing her name.
“How is it possible that now, in 2023 … these kids are still learning that this is a role model for them?” Terheș asked. “And now, out of the blue, we are surprised that people are blowing themselves up and killing innocent people,” he added, before asking the Commissioner what has the EU done so far to ensure Palestinian kids are not being indoctrinated, especially from EU funds.
To this, Várhelyi promptly admitted that the problem is real and has been persisting for a long time. “We have run a study that came to the same conclusion as you have,” the Commissioner said, adding that there’s no disagreement between Brussels and the PA about the need for curriculum reforms, although it was regrettable that it didn’t happen so far.
The commissioner stressed that the UNRWA has been closely cooperating with the EU in addressing this issue—that is why it’s shocking the book was picked up from a school run by them.
“I’m very sad to see that this is educational material that you have shown today, which is used by UNRWA, because [the agency] was the one who not only was able to talk about this problem but undertook commitments with us to eradicate any [such] material,” Várhelyi stated, adding that he still believes the cooperation will soon yield concrete results.
New system coming
While agreeing that there were significant shortcomings in how the Commission handled these funds in the past, Várhelyi concluded by pledging a lot more vigilance in the future, which is also the main objective of the current review.
“With the brutal and never-seen-before terrorist attack of the Hamas, we have a new political reality on the ground which calls for prudence when it comes to our spending,” the commissioner said, stressing that the review will make sure that the EU will never engage with anyone who had the slightest connection to the Hamas’ attacks.
Furthermore, the Commission is not only going to introduce new, stricter screening criteria, Várhelyi added, but also “impose a condition on anyone who benefits from our funding to take clear and unambiguous commitments to help us stop the spread of hate, the glorification of terror, and antisemitism.”
The MEPs welcomed these efforts, but some remained skeptical of the results. “I would like to thank the commissioner for the review, that’s a really good initiative, but I see this, to be honest, as a first step. … What we need to see is clear, concrete actions,” Ruissen said, suggesting to freeze all payments until the Palestinian Authority shows that it takes these concerns seriously.
