The European Union Wants To Show More Than Trump, Urges The Pelestinian Authority To Be Reformed

The location of evacuations in Gaza with the background of Gaza Harbor has been destroyed in the Mediterranean Sea due to Israeli military attacks since October 2023. (Abedallah Alhaj-UNRWA-commons.wikimedia.org)

JAKARTA - The European Union (EU) on Thursday urged the Palestinian Authority to be reformed. On the same day, the EU headquarters in Belgium hosted 60 delegates to discuss reconstruction and governance in Gaza after the US-brokered peace plan.

The 27-member EU bloc, Palestine's largest financial aid donor, wants to play a more prominent role after being marginalized in US President Donald Trump's efforts to end the Israel-Hamas war.

"Our goal is to strengthen governance, build a more resilient economy, stabilize finance, improve services for the community, and create conditions for future effective governance across the region," said EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Sumica, quoted from AFP, Friday 21 November.

As part of these efforts, several EU countries signed contributions of more than 80 million euros, in addition to disbursing aid funds that had previously been raised around 1.6 billion euros over three years.

"Our financial support is related to the Palestinian Authority's reform agenda, which of course they have committed to implementing," said Suita.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was committed to realizing a Palestinian state with a well-reformed and functioning Palestinian Authority at its core.

"We will continue to support all efforts to stabilize the region, including the transitional governments of the West Bank and Gaza," he said.

The Palestinian Authority is in limited control of Israel's large part of the West Bank, insisting that it should play a key role in running Gaza in the future.

The authorities have no longer played a role in the Gaza Administration since its rival Hamas seized control of the region in 2007, although it still provides some services in the region.

Previously, Trump suggested allowing the role of the Palestinian Authority in carrying out Gaza after completing a series of reforms.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has almost rejected the option of the Palestinian Authority's postwar-based decision on Gaza.

"Today we emphasize, as we have always emphasized, that Gaza and the West Bank are a political and geographical unit, an inseparable part of the Palestinian state," said Palestinian Authority Prime Minister (PM) Mohammad Mustafa.

"Unifying the two under one legitimate government, one law, and one administration is not a slogan. That is the only way to stability", he continued.