Palestinian Social Development Minister Ahmad Majdalani asserted on Monday that his ministry is doing its best, in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, to secure financial aid for the poor families as soon as possible.
In a statement, Majdalani said the European Union (EU) has stopped providing funds for the poor Palestinian families since the beginning of this year.
“The EU has informed the Palestinian Authority since the start of this year that it is not going to pay any of this year’s funds until it completes special procedures for technical and administrative reviews related to the funds provided by the EU to a number of countries,” he said.
Majdalani stressed that the delay in sending funds prevented the government from paying cash aid to beneficiaries on time.
He explained that the government had to borrow from banks to pay part of the only payment that was disbursed to the families this year.
The EU has been providing €140 million annually to the PA, including €60 million to social allowances, and €90 million for the salaries of employees such as teachers and health care workers.
The EU contributions cover social allowances of more than 111,000 vulnerable families in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, paid once every three to four months.
