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EU Pledges $435 Million to Ailing Palestinian Authority — With Conditions for Reform
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 28, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
The European Commission announced on Friday that it would provide 400 million euros ($435 million) in “short-term emergency financial support” to the ailing Palestinian Authority (PA) on the conditions that it address corruption, reduce unnecessary expenditures, and fix its educational curriculum, which has been widely condemned for promoting antisemitism and hatred of Israel.
The money will be disbursed in the form of grants and loans in three payments between July and September, the commission said in a statement, to address a Palestinian economic crisis which, some European officials fear, could lead to the collapse of the PA.
A “Letter of Intent” between the commission — the primary executive arm of the European Union (EU) — and the PA outlines the specifics of the funding and the agreed upon conditions needed to be met by the latter to secure the cash injection.
The conditions are aimed at “modernizing institutions, strengthening the rule of law, and reforming the social security system,” among other major reforms, according to the document.
The Letter of Intent mentions specific guidelines for the PA to adopt. To fight corruption, the EU is requiring the PA to enforce a mandatory retirement age for civil servants and to reduce government expenditures by 5 percent, among other measures.
It is unclear whether the EU’s demands to reduce government expenditures and reform the social security system will impact the PA’s so-called “pay for slay” program, which makes official payments to Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, the families of “martyrs” killed in attacks on Israelis, and injured Palestinian terrorists. The European Commission makes no mention of the nine-figure Palestinian fund, which critics argue is a financial reward for terrorism and reportedly comprises nearly 10 percent of the PA’s budget.
The emergency funding for the PA is not intended for rebuilding Gaza, according to the commission.
In order to receive the payments, the EU is also requiring the PA to modernize its education curriculum.
For years, studies by both nonprofits and governmental bodies have shown that Palestinian textbooks for schoolchildren promote antisemitic incitement and violence.
Last year, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on the European Commission to suspend aid to the Palestinian Authority’s educational system until antisemitic and violent themes are removed from textbooks issued to K-12 students.
Although the EU has provided over 1.2 billion euros in external aid to the PA between 2021-2024, the PA faces an impending economic crisis as a result of financial corruption, mismanagement, and an economic shock related to the Israel-Hamas War. According to a recent report from the World Bank, the PA is operating at a $682 million deficit, which is expected to increase to $1.2 billion by the end of 2024.
The EU makes clear in its conditions for the PA that it is unhappy with the current Palestinian government. One of the aid conditions, for instance, requires the activation of a “citizen’s complaint mechanism” and that the PA address complaints at the cabinet level.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, hailed the cash infusion as an important step toward a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after the Israel-Hamas War in Gaza concludes.
“Israelis, Palestinians, and the entire region deserve peace, security, and stability … With this joint strategy, we are supporting the Palestinian Authority’s reform efforts,” she said in a statement. “Together, we are laying the groundwork for economic and political stability in the West Bank.”
Mahmoud Abbas, the aging president of the PA, has refused to hold elections since taking power in 2005 and has repeatedly been accused of corruption and embezzlement.
The commission’s announcement came one day after Israeli’s parliament, known as the Knesset, on Thursday easily approved a motion to reject Palestinian statehood west of the Jordan River.
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) applauded the EU’s decision to attach conditions to PA funding.
“We welcome today’s significant announcement by the EU to, for the first time, tie all funding to the Palestinian Authority on its ‘progress towards the agreed-upon reform milestones,’” the group wrote on X/Twitter. “Urgent reforms include stopping salaries to terrorists and ending antisemitic incitement in PA textbooks.”
The post EU Pledges $435 Million to Ailing Palestinian Authority — With Conditions for Reform first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.