EU denies intent to cut aid to Palestinian Authorities  

The European Union (EU) yesterday said it had no intention to cut its financial aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA).

“The EU will continue to support the PA to enable it to perform its role in the Palestinian territories and fulfill its duties to the Palestinian people,” the EU’s communication officer in Jerusalem, Shadi Othman, told reporters, explaining that Europe was the “largest international financial supporter to the Palestinian people.”

Othman added that the EU was encouraging the PA “to take the tax revenues from Israel.” “This is a Palestinian right, but this has nothing to do with the financial support that the union provides for the Palestinians,” he stressed.

Israel’s Walla news site recently reported that the EU had warned it would cut its aid to the Palestinians if the PA continued to refuse “tax revenues clearance through Israel.”

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