STRASBOURG, 17 May 2006 — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appealed yesterday for the European Union to give the Hamas-led government a “chance to adapt” to international requirements and not cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority.
“Stopping assistance to the Palestinian Authority, cutting aid, will exacerbate the deteriorating economic and social situation,” Abbas told the European Parliament. Abbas said the cuts in aid left the Palestinians facing a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
“I would like the mechanism approved... last week implemented as soon as possible so we can avoid this catastrophe,” Abbas told a news conference after his speech.
The EU and the United States froze hundreds of millions of dollars in direct aid to the Palestinian government after Hamas won legislative elections in January. Washington and the EU list Hamas as a terrorist organization and have demanded the group renounce violence and recognize Israel.
Yesterday, Israel’s Discount Bank said it would terminate banking services it provides to Palestinian banks in the next three to six months, a move that adds to pressure on the new Palestinian government.
A spokeswoman for Discount, Israel’s third largest bank, said the move was to comply with money-laundering laws that require banks to know their customers and that money is not used for illegal purposes, including to finance terrorism.
