The European Commission has today adopted a €118.4 million assistance package to support the Palestinian Authority as part of the annual allocation for Palestine in 2023. “Through the EU’s PEGASE mechanism, the new financial assistance adopted – a statement released in Brussels reads – will contribute to the payments of the salaries and pensions of civil servants in the West Bank, the social allowances for vulnerable families through the Cash Transfer Programme in the West Bank and Gaza, the payment for the medical referrals to the East Jerusalem Hospitals and support the administrative and technical capacity of the Palestinian Authority institutions”. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “The situation in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is very worrying. We have already quadrupled our humanitarian assistance to Gaza. After careful review of our funds, we are also announcing much needed assistance to the Palestinian Authority. The EU remains the largest international donor of aid to the Palestinians, and we are already reflecting on a wider mid-term package for next year to contribute to the economic and political stability of Gaza and the West Bank, once conditions allow on the ground, as part of wider international efforts to reinstate a two-state solution”.