EU adopts €118 million aid plan for Palestinian Authority

The European Commission on Friday said it had adopted a €118 million ($130 million) aid package to support the Palestinian Authority.

The commission said the aid would help pay salaries and pensions of civil servants in the West Bank, social allowances for vulnerable families and the payment for medical referrals to East Jerusalem hospitals.

The EU is also ready to continue helping the Palestinian Authority in the longer term, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

"We are reflecting on a wider mid-term package for next year to contribute to the economic and political stability of Gaza and the West Bank, once conditions allow on the ground, as part of wider international efforts to reinstate a two-state solution," von der Leyen said in a statement.

For 2024, the EU has also set aside €125 million in humanitarian aid for people in the besieged Gaza strip, where EU Commissioner Josep Borrell said food shortages had reached unprecedented levels.

"This is a grave development and should be a wakeup call for the whole world to act now to prevent a deadly human catastrophe," the EU's top diplomat said.

"Aid needs to reach those in need through all necessary means, including humanitarian corridors and pauses for humanitarian needs."

($1 = €0.9078)