By Mike Wagenheim, JNS
“We now need the conditions on the ground that will allow the support to reach the people in Gaza,” European Commissioner Dubravka Šuica said.
The European Union launched a nearly $1 billion initiative on Monday to support Gaza's early recovery after the Israel-Hamas war, combining new and previously pledged funding from more than a dozen countries and international financial institutions.
Dubravka Šuica, European commissioner for the Mediterranean, announced the “Team Gaza Initiative” at a meeting of the Palestine Donor Group in Brussels. It will finance debris removal, water and sanitation projects, healthcare restoration and other essential services.
Funding is backed by Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the European Commission, the World Bank and the European Investment Bank. Australia and Canada are expected to join.
“We now need the conditions on the ground that will allow the support to reach the people in Gaza,” Šuica said.
Šuica added that Israel has agreed to move forward with two major projects involving waste and water management following her recent meetings with Israeli officials in Jerusalem.
Donors “want to start with so-called early recovery, and it is very important to show that we are willing to do it,” Šuica said. “But to do that, we need disarmament of Hamas in order to start proper recovery.”
The terrorist organization, which still controls a densely populated section of Gaza, recently announced it would dissolve its governing role in favor of a Palestinian-led technocratic committee operating under the U.S.-backed Board of Peace. Analysts and officials, however, have questioned the announcement because Hamas did not commit to surrendering its weapons.
Representatives of the Board of Peace attended Monday's meeting alongside Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and Finance Minister Estephan Salameh. The conference also reviewed the Palestinian Authority’s reform agenda, with future international assistance tied to progress on governance and financial reforms.
Among the key reforms under review is the Palestinian Authority's replacement of its long-criticized “pay-for-slay” system, under which terrorists and their families received payments linked to the severity of attacks against Israelis. Ramallah maintains it has eliminated incentives for violence, but Israeli officials and other critics dispute that claim. The European Union has commissioned an independent audit to determine whether the reforms have been fully implemented before additional donor funds are disbursed.
“We are aware of the great difficulties you are facing, so I want to acknowledge your efforts,” Šuica told Mustafa. “It is very important that this reform is fully implemented.”
She added that the EU is awaiting the audit's findings to ensure donor funds do not end up in “the wrong hands.”
