EU must Continue Palestine Funding

IPSC Press Release 09.04.06 For further information please contact: 087 77 67640

EU Foreign Ministers will meet on Monday the 10th of April, 2006, to make a final decision on the future of aid to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). The IPSC calls on the EU, including the Irish government, to continue providing direct aid to the PNA. Aid provided by the EU to the PNA contributes towards the payment of salaries for 100,000 civil servants - an income stream which represents the backbone of the beleaguered Palestinian economy. The aid also contributes towards the running of schools and hospitals. The Irish government contributes directly to the Palestinian Ministry for Education as well as to health clinics in Palestine. Withdrawing this aid will result in an intensified humanitarian crises within the OPT. The decision to withdraw aid is a form of punishment for the Palestinian peoples' democratic choice in recent elections - which were internationally accepted as being both free and fair. The election results came after recent years of an intensified campaign by the Israeli military which resulted in the death of at least 2943 Palestinian civilians [including at least 654 children] and the demolition of thousands of homes.* Despite the prospect of a deepening humanitarian crises inside the OPT - which has seen bread and medicine shortages inside the Gaza Strip in recent weeks - the EU has failed to apply any pressure on the Israeli government to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people by allowing them to exercise their right to self-determination. Implementation of this form of punishment against the Palestinian people will also have a long-term regional impact on the development of democracy and respect for the rule of law. The IPSC calls on the Irish government and the EU to: 1. Continue providing financial assistance to the Palestinian National Authority; 2. Suspend the trade privileges accorded to Israel under the EU-Israel Association Agreement and to ensure that specific, measurable and time-controlled benchmarks are included within the EU Neighbourhood policy until such time as Israel allows the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination; 3. In the interim period to ensure that international humanitarian law [particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention] and international human rights law are fully implemented, as outlined in the World Court Opinion of July 9th 2004. 4. Continue with the EIDHR programme in order to strengthen democratic forces in Palestine and Israel. * source the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, a partner of IrishAid. www.pchrgaza.org ------------------- ENDS