 JERUSALEM - Israel has asked the European Union to make Palestinians sign a document renouncing terrorism before they can receive EU help under a new aid programme, Western officials said on Tuesday.
The proposal was one of several raised by Israeli officials in talks on Monday over an international aid mechanism meant to help Palestinians hard hit by a Western aid boycott while sidestepping the Hamas-led government. The Israeli proposal underscored the difficulties facing the European Union in crafting an aid system that does not undercut Israeli and US efforts to isolate Hamas.
| The EU doesn't mind undercutting us and the Israelis; they're just trying to figure out how to do that and avoid unpleasantries with Dubya. |
A European Commission source said no decision had been made on any system to vet Palestinians who would benefit under the aid mechanism, agreed at the weekend by the Quartet of Middle East mediators -- the EU, the United States, the United Nations and Russia.
European and Palestinian critics said requiring every aid recipient to sign a form renouncing violence could politicise the aid mechanism and further delay the launch of proposed allowance payments to tens of thousands of needy Palestinians. “It is not a fair demand,” said Saeb Erekat, a top aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. “They (the Israelis) should leave politics out of this. This is a humanitarian catastrophe.”
| Caused by politicans, which makes it a political issue. |
In addition to asking Palestinians to sign forms renouncing terrorism, Israel has proposed running the names of Palestinian aid recipients through its own national security database.
| Oh I'm sure some interesting things would pop up. |
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev declined to discuss details of the discussions with the EU, but said: “It must be clear that this sort of money is not going to the Widows Ammunition Fund people involved in terrorism.” |