Brussels, 27/07/2006 (Agence Europe) - In Gaza during her current visit to the Middle East (see related article), Commissioner Benita Ferraro-Waldner announced on Thursday that the European Commission is making its first social allowance payment to Palestinian doctors and nurses. This payment is made possible by the Temporary International Mechanism, to which the Commission's overall contribution is €100 million. These allowances will not match the level of the usual salaries of those concerned (who, as a general rule, have received only one month's payment during the last five months because of the Palestinian Authority's severe financial crisis), but will enable them to carry on performing an essential service that benefits the whole population, says the Commission in a press release. Payments, which will be made progressively (the Commission gives no overall figure), are expected to involve some 13,000 people.