From the EU, August 2:
The European Union, the United Kingdom and France provided around € 5.5 million for the implementation of nineteen social infrastructure projects in Area C of the West Bank. The contribution is part of the European Union Area C Development Programme in the West Bank that amounts to €9.5 million.
The signing ceremony for the grant implementation agreements was held yesterday in Ramallah between the Municipal Development and Lending Fund (MDLF) and the representatives of sixteen local communities across the West Bank. The event was attended by the representatives of the Palestinian Ministry of Local Government, the European Union, the United Kingdom Department for International Development, and the French Development Agency.
This is the third and fourth package of the European Union Area C Development Programme. It will fund nineteen social infrastructures in sixteen localities serving more than 28,000 beneficiaries. The funded projects include schools, roads, multipurpose buildings, football playground and an electrical transformer.
The European Union Area C Development Programme in the West Bank is funded by the European Union, Denmark, France, and the United Kingdom.
The EU and EU Member States provide humanitarian assistance to communities in need in Area C in accordance with the humanitarian imperative. At the same time, the EU works with the Palestinian Authority to develop Area C and support Palestinian presence there. This includes projects promoting economic development and improving the quality of life of Palestinian communities in the areas of private sector development, environment and agriculture.
Area C is crucial for the two-state solution. Without Area C there is no contiguity of land and no space for Palestinian social and economic development.
Under existing signed agreements, Israel is the sole administrator of Area C. Even if you consider it “occupied,” Israel is the only country that has the right to determine zoning and similar decisions.
The EU knows this and keeps sending millions into the relatively few Palestinians in Area C – knowing that any buildings ti constructs will likely be demolished by Israel.
Then the EU will complain that Israel is demolishing the buildings which it knows is Israel’s legal right.
So the entire point isn’t to help Palestinians in Area C (some 95-98% of them live in Areas A and B). The entire point is to pressure Israel.
What a great way to waste European taxpayer euros.
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