JERUSALEM, June 29, 2013 (WAFA) - The European Union contributed €9.95 million to help impoverished Palestinian families in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, an EU press release said on Friday.

The EU’s contribution is this year's second installment to the Palestinian Authority's payment of social allowances to the poor and vulnerable families.

Over 57,000 Palestinian families will benefit from this contribution, said the press release, with more than half of them living in Gaza.

“Social protection is at the centre of EU's policy on development cooperation,” said the EU Representative John Gatt-Rutter, stressing that the EU remains fully committed to support the Palestinian Authority in this area.

This €10 million contribution represents the second tranche of an overall 2013 financial commitment of €40 million allocated to the payment of social allowances for households living in extreme poverty.

This overall amount, which includes funds for the EU budget and donors' contribution, covers almost half of the total budget of the Palestinian cash transfer program.

M.S.