BRUSSELS, Saturday, June 1, 2024 (WAFA) - The European Commission has today processed a second tranche of assistance of €25 million for the Palestinian Authority to contribute to the payment of salaries and pensions of Palestinian civil servants and disbursed €16 million for UNRWA to provide basic services such as health and education to Palestinian refugees. 

The €25 million payment under PEGASE will help the Palestinian Authority to meet part of its commitments towards Palestinian civil servants in the West Bank, said the Commission in a statement. “At this critical juncture, it will provide a much-needed contribution to the significant challenges facing the Palestinian economy, in particular before Eid al-Adha.”

The payment is the second tranche disbursed to the Palestinian Authority as part of the €118.4 million assistance package adopted in December 2023.

The first €25 million payment was disbursed in March.

“Through the EU's PEGASE mechanism, EU assistance 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 Program 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.”

With regards to UNRWA, the new payment of €16 million to UNRWA brings to €66 million the EU's total development assistance out of the €82 million for the UN Agency in 2024.

T.R.