Germany asks Israel to hand over the taxes it collects for the Palestinian Authority

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Announces the delivery of an additional 19 million euros in humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip

June 25 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, asked the Israeli Government this Tuesday to hand over the taxes it collects for the Palestinian Authority during a meeting with her Palestinian counterpart, Mohammad Mustafa, in the city of Ramallah, in the West Bank.

Baerbock has expressed that without these resources it would be “impossible” for the Palestinian Authority to start from scratch and has stressed that Israeli banks must “be allowed to approve these payments to Palestinian banks again.” “The Palestinian Authority needs viable and solid structures on which a Palestinian state can be built,” she said.

“Sustainable security in the Middle East requires a strong and reliable partner on the Palestinian side. This requires reforms so that it can play an important role,” he indicated, as reported by the German Foreign Ministry in a message broadcast through X.

In this sense, Baerbock has conveyed to Mustafa “Germany’s support for these political and economic reforms” and has announced the delivery of an additional 19 million euros in humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, which will be distributed by several organizations.

Baerbock has praised the work of the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) and the World Food Programme, as well as the World Health Organization, who contribute to “the distribution of flour and rice to hungry families, risking their lives.” “.

“Each box of medical supplies from the World Health Organization would help restore a minimum level of medical care in the destroyed hospitals of the Gaza Strip,” he said before clarifying that the money will serve to finance “food baskets that cover 90 percent of the daily food needs” of the population.

MEETING WITH KATZ

Subsequently, Baerbock also met with his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, in Jerusalem, with whom he discussed the latest progress in the offensive against the Palestinian enclave.

After this meeting, he criticized the far-right voices within the Government for promoting settler violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, especially in the West Bank, while demanding that Hamas accept the proposal presented by the president of the United States. Joe Biden, to achieve a ceasefire in exchange for the release of the hostages who remain kidnapped in Gaza.

“It is in the hands of Hamas to immediately alleviate the suffering of its people in Gaza,” he stated before pointing out that there are extremist voices in the Government that “also seek a conflict in the West Bank.” “Parts of the Israeli government coalition are adding fuel to the fire and endangering Israel’s security interests with their aggressive settlement policy,” she continued.

In addition, he has regretted reports of the “brutal conditions” to which Palestinians detained by Israel are subjected, as well as other reports of alleged abuses committed by Israeli forces. “The shocking reports of the cruel detention conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli camps and prisons do not coincide with Israel’s own claim to be a democratic and constitutional state,” she said.

For this reason, it has asked the Israeli authorities to provide explanations about “disturbing” images and videos of operations carried out by the country’s Armed Forces, especially in the West Bank city of Jenin, which “contradict International Law.”