Aid funds for Palestinians
Baerbock: “Of course we don’t finance terror”
October 11, 2023, 1:32 a.m
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Is Hamas’ terror also possible through aid payments from Germany? Foreign Minister Baerbock rejects the suspicion. According to her, development funds should continue to flow into the Palestinian territories. The EU also apparently does not want to stop its services for the time being.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has assured that no terror was financed with Germany’s aid to the Palestinians. “Of course we don’t finance terror,” said the Green politician on ZDF’s “heute journal”. At the “special request” of Israel, the financial aid provided by the federal government and the EU is now being reviewed again. But that doesn’t mean “at all” that there are any doubts about it.
The Palestinian territories never received budget support from the German state, said Baerbock, but rather money as part of development cooperation. “It is important for the federal government that we do not stop food aid or water supplies, because the local people need that very, very urgently,” said Baerbock.
Chancellor Oliver Scholz had called for a review of the aid funds that Federal Development Minister Svenja Schulze from the SPD announced on Sunday. It must be ensured that “any structure that has something to do with terrorism is not supported,” he said. After Hamas’ major attack on Israel, the Development Ministry is also examining its payments to the UN Relief and Works Agency for the Palestinians (UNRWA). “We will proceed with the review according to priorities and decide quickly as soon as payments become necessary in this area. Because we do not want to risk that the situation on site for vulnerable groups such as women, children or refugees will become even worse,” said one Ministry spokesman.
Borrell: Most countries want to continue EU aid
Development aid payments to the Palestinian Authority are currently being hotly debated in the EU. According to EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell, an overwhelming majority of EU states reject a temporary freeze. There are only two or three countries that see things differently, Borrell explained in the evening after informal discussions between the EU foreign ministers. He did not say which countries these were, but it is certain that Hungary is one of them. Ending support for the Palestinian Authority would be the best gift that could be given to Hamas, and it would jeopardize its interests and partnership with the Arab world, Borrell argued. The Palestinian people are also suffering at the moment.
According to Borrell, there should only be a review and no suspension of payments for the time being. According to Commission information on Tuesday evening, around 400 million euros of the funds planned for the Palestinians until the end of 2023 could theoretically be frozen. 463 million euros have already been paid out since the beginning of the current planning period in 2021.
Baerbock wants to hold Qatar responsible
Foreign Minister Baerbock announced “very clear words” in the “heute journal” about states that may have co-financed violence by the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas. The federal government has “made it very clear to Qatar, among others, that they have a responsibility to now clearly stand up to this most brutal terror.” This will also be the “main topic” during the visit of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, to Berlin on Thursday. It must be made clear: “We do not accept terrorist support,” said Baerbock. Scholz meets the Emir for lunch in the Federal Chancellery.
Baerbock also called for Qatar’s support in freeing the Germans who had been taken hostage by Hamas. It is important to make it clear to Qatar and other Gulf states that they must use their channels and options to get the hostages free first, Baerbock continued. “We appeal to these Gulf states to make it clear, especially now, that terrorism has no place in the region, that it has no place in the region, that it has an impact on Hezbollah, that it can also have an impact on Iran, that this terrible inhumanity must be stopped immediately,” said the Foreign Minister in the ARD “Tagesthemen”. ” out of.
Qatar’s foreign minister told reporters it was “too early” to negotiate a possible prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas. “I think we have to wait and see what happens on the ground.”