The Palestinian Authority's diplomatic contacts are not restricted to recent tensions in Jerusalem and the violent provocations at Al-Aqsa Mosque, it appears.
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Israel Hayom has learned that due to the worsening economic crisis in Judea and Samaria, the PA is making a concerted effort to reach out to European powers to move up the transfer of the annual European Union aid package, estimated at a few hundred million euros.
The aid has been delayed over the position taken by envoys to the EU from Hungary and a few other member nations, who have demanded since 2021 that aid to the PA be conditioned on the PA changing the anti-Israel and antisemitic content in its school textbooks.
Hungary's representative to the EU, Olivér Várhelyi, recently visited Ramallah. During his meetings there, Várhelyi demanded changes to the content of PA textbooks, pointing out that some contain blatant anti-Israel messages. A few other EU states have demanded that PA government institutions undergo reforms as a condition for continued European aid.
The delay in the EU aid comes at an inconvenient time for the PA leadership. As Hamas continues to gain influence in Judea and Samaria, the PA needs funds more than ever, both to stop its status from eroding further and to keep Hamas from creating provocations.
Despite the financial need, in the last few days, high-ranking officials in the PA have sent clear messages to the Europeans rejecting their demands.
"We will not agree to conditioned aid," a PA official told Israel Hayom.
"We are currently in contact with representatives of the European Union in Brussels. There are obstacles to the budget being approved, and we are explaining that the EU must oppose the Hungarian representative's racist stance. We will not die of hunger, but there is no reason we shouldn't receive the money," the same official said.
PA officials claim that the delay in the aid transfer could make the PA vulnerable to an economic crisis, since it would result in the inability to pay government workers.
Meanwhile, the EU has yet to make a decision on the matter, but some member nations oppose Hungary's conditions and want to transfer the money to the PA. This is what the Ramallah leadership is counting on, and this is the focus of its international efforts. Overall, the PA does not think that the EU will allow it to collapse economically, and will soon find a way to send it the money.
The PA official said, "We expect the countries that support us to press on the other EU nations so the way can be paved to approve the budget."
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