Brussels, 21/04/2006 (Agence Europe) - French President Jacques Chirac's statement in Egypt on Wednesday that he supported continuing humanitarian aid to the Palestinians was completely at one with the positions of the EU and the Middle East Quartet (of which the EU is a member), although it might have been interpreted by some as running counter to the European line. Even Hamas welcomed Mr Chirac's words and saw in them a tendency towards a change in the European stance. In fact, Mr Chirac merely confirmed what the 25 EU Foreign Ministers agreed on 10 April at the General Affairs/External Relations Council in Luxemburg: direct aid to the Palestinian Authority would remained suspended until the government accepted the three criteria (renunciation of violence, recognition of Israel's right to exist, and acceptance of existing agreements), but the EU wants to continue all assistance necessary to meet the “basic human needs” of the Palestinian population (see EUROPE 9171, p4).
At the press conference with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Wednesday, Mr Chirac was reported by AFP as saying, “I believe, and this is a sentiment shared by President Mubarak, that it would be both unfair and politically inept to make the Palestinian population pay the price” which the international community would like Hamas to pay by suspending aid. “I am, then, in favour of maintaining aid for humanitarian reasons and reasons of fairness.”
In the meantime, the Commission and Council are continuing to reflect on how to maintain, or even increase, humanitarian aid without going through Hamas government channels. Several ideas are being discussed: the money could be sent through UN agencies, through NGOs or through the office of Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas, in which the EU regularly reiterates its full confidence. The PLO, of which Mr Abbas is also the President, could be another channel.