European Commission Announces Triple Funding for Palestinian/Hamas Effort

Sundance reporting for Conservative Treehouse 

EU President Ursula von der Leyen has pledged to provide the Palestinian/Hamas effort with $50 million in supplemental assistance to support the resistance effort against Israeli retaliation.

EU Announcement – “President Ursula von der Leyen spoke to the Secretary General of the UN António Guterres this afternoon, in the context of her on-going contacts with regional leaders.

Following this call, she said: “The Commission will immediately increase the current humanitarian aid envelope foreseen for Gaza by 50 million euros. This will bring the total to over 75 million euros. We will continue our close cooperation with the UN and its agencies to ensure that this aid reaches those in need in the Gaza strip. The Commission supports Israel’s right to defend itself against the Hamas terrorists, in full respect of international humanitarian law. We are working hard to ensure that innocent civilians in Gaza are provided support in this context.”

Commissioner Lenarčič said: “The Commission is doing everything in its power to provide humanitarian support to civilians in the Gaza strip. This tripling of EU humanitarian assistance will help ensure that civilians in Gaza can be provided with the basic necessities required. It is essential that safe and unrestricted access for humanitarian aid is ensured.”  (Read more)

Palestinian boys dressed in uniforms of Palestinian security forces and holding plastic toy guns take part during a rally marking “Nakba” in the West Bank city of Nablus May 15, 2011.