Bavaria’s conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) party is blocking the release of €30 million ($35 million) in German aid pledged to the Palestinian Authority, citing concerns the money could be misused against Israel, the Bild newspaper reported on Friday.
The CSU is the Bavarian affiliate of Chancellor Fredrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union, a center-right party.
Development Minister Reem Alabali Radovan of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) had announced the support package after a visit to the region last month, saying it was intended to pay salaries of Palestinian healthcare and education workers through an E.U.-managed mechanism.
But CSU parliamentary leader Alexander Hoffmann told Bild the funds required further “clarification.” He stressed that while humanitarian help was important, “projects that endanger Israel’s security must be excluded.”
Coalition sources confirmed that the CSU move has stalled parliamentary approval, though Merz’s spokesman expressed confidence that the issue could be resolved among lawmakers.
Numerous terrorists who have targeted Israelis in recent years were revealed to be employed by the Palestinian Authority, often as part of its security apparatus, or otherwise tied to it.
The Palestinian Authority long funded family members of terrorists killed or captured by Israel through monthly pension payments is what is known as the pay-for-slay system, which funneled many millions of dollars annually to support the killers’ relatives. Ramallah said it ended those payments in February, but recipients receive the aid through new frameworks that are less explicit about the entitlement.
A German Economic Cooperation and Development Ministry spokeswoman told the AFP news agency that the funds were vital to alleviate the Authority’s financial crisis, which worsened after Israel halted tax transfers, leaving healthcare services restricted and delaying the opening of the school year.
Israel has deducted from the tax money it collects for the Palestinian Authority various sums, including pay-for-slay money, damages and penalties for Ramallah’s legal warfare against Israel.
