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The European Union pressed Thursday to bolster reform of the Palestinian Authority, as Brussels hosted 60 delegations to discuss reconstruction and governance in Gaza after the US-brokered peace plan.
The 27-nation bloc, the Palestinians’ biggest financial backer, is looking to play a more prominent role after being left largely on the sidelines of US President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the Israel-Hamas war.
“Our aim is to strengthen governance, build a more resilient economy, stabilize finances, improve services for the population, and create conditions for future effective governance across all territories,” said EU commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica.
As part of the efforts, a handful of EU countries signed contributions of more than 80 million euros ($92 million), part of broader support by the bloc worth around 1.6 billion euros over three years that has already been announced.
“Our financial support is linked to the Palestinian Authority reform agenda, which, of course, they committed to implement,” Suica said.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on X that the bloc was “committed to working towards a Palestinian state with a reformed, well-functioning Palestinian Authority at its core.”
“We will continue to support all efforts to stabilize the region, including West Bank and Gaza transitional governance,” she said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected any role for the Palestinian Authority in Gaza’s post-war governance. Israel accuses the PA of inciting terrorism in its school curriculum and through payments to Palestinian prisoners and their families.
Under Trump’s comprehensive Gaza ceasefire plan, which Netanyahu endorsed in a joint press conference with the president in September, the PA will have to reform itself before taking the reins of Gaza from an International Stabilization Force and an apolitical Palestinian technocracy overseen by a Trump-chaired Board of Peace.
As Gaza is rebuilt and the PA “faithfully” reforms itself, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway” to Palestinian statehood, Trump’s plan states.
“We were clear today, as we have always been, that Gaza and the West Bank are one political and geographical unit, inseparable parts of the state of Palestine,” said PA Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa.
“Reunifying the two under one legitimate government, one law and one administration is not a slogan. It’s the only workable path to stability,” he said.
Since its rival Hamas violently seized control of Gaza in 2007, the PA, which exercises limited control over parts of the West Bank, has had no role in governing the Strip, though it still provides some services there.
The EU — riven by divisions among its member states — has struggled to wield influence throughout the conflict sparked in Gaza when Hamas invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
As part of its push to play a greater role in Trump’s plan, the EU also says it wants to train up to 3,000 Palestinian police officers in the Gaza Strip.
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