- JERUSALEM: A European Union diplomat says Europe’s financial crisis is causing some EU lawmakers to question whether the bloc can continue to deliver millions in aid to the Palestinians.
The EU is the largest single aid donor to the Palestinians, contributing about 500 million euros ($720 million) a year to build institutions for a future state.
With peace talks deadlocked, the diplomat said Thursday that some EU lawmakers doubt a Palestinian state will ever emerge. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter.
The earliest the EU could cut back aid would be in 2014, when the next seven-year budget begins.
Foreign donations make up about a quarter of the Palestinian Authority’s $3.7 billion annual budget.