By Agnes Szucs
BRUSSELS (AA) – EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday reconfirmed that the EU will continue providing humanitarian assistance to Palestine.
Before the weekly reunion of EU Commissioners, top officials of the EU executive body commemorated the victims of the attacks in Israel with a minute of silence, in the presence of Israel's EU Ambassador Haim Regev.
“Our humanitarian support to the Palestinian people is not in question,” von der Leyen asserted.
She explained that the European Commission will “carefully review” the bloc’s financial assistance for Palestine as “it has never and will never go to Hamas or any terrorist entity.”
Her remarks came after the EU Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi announced earlier this week the suspension of EU funds for Palestine, an announcement that the EU executive body had to later rebuff.
She called the attacks “a tragedy for Israel, for the Jewish people, and also for Europe,” reassuring Israel of the EU’s backing.
“This has nothing to do with the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people,” she said.
“The horror that Hamas has unleashed will bring more suffering upon innocent Palestinians,” von der Leyen asserted.
She added that EU diplomacy should work against the destabilizing effects of the events and their likely “major impact on the region,” and support “the ongoing rapprochement between Israel and its Arab neighbors.”
The bloc will also “monitor closely Iran's posture, given its longstanding support to Hamas,” she further said.
Von der Leyen made no comment on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza after Israel announced a total blockade of the region and carried out hundreds of deadly airstrikes since Saturday.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) warned on Wednesday that the Gaza Strip will face a humanitarian catastrophe if safe corridors remain closed for aid.
In a dramatic escalation of Mideast tensions, Israeli forces have launched a sustained and forceful military campaign against the Gaza Strip, a response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.
The conflict began on Saturday when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air, which Hamas said was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.
In response to Hamas' actions, the Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip. Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.
At least 1,200 Israelis and 900 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict began.