At a time of economic crisis, the European Union remains the biggest donor to Third World countries. It is the EUobjectives in the highest standard of accountability to give assistance to the developing world. Accordingly since the Palestinian Authority was created in 1994, the EU generously offered financial assistance and continues to be the largest donor to the Palestinian Authority today, which depends largely on foreign donations. Recent report by the European Court of Auditors found that funds offered to the Palestinian Authority are diverted from its intended moral purpose. It is found that since 2007 large number of Palestinian Authority civil servants in Gaza have received their salaries partly funded by EU aid even though they were not working.

The Palestinian Authority reputed for graft assigns a big portion of its budget paying salaries to Palestinian prisoners convicted of terrorism offenses, with salaries five times higher than an average salary in the West Bank. The European Court of Auditors criticized that there is no clear standard and conditions for EU aid to the Palestinian Authority.By allowing the Palestinian Authority to use the EU financial assistance to support terrorist or criminal activities cast doubt to EU's credibility to their million European citizens who are unemployed.

The chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control called for the imposition of clear benchmarks and conditions that the Palestinian Authority would have to meet in order to receive additional EU funds, including improvement of the state of human rights in the West Bank, breaking down corruption and cutting off supports to convicted Palestinian terrorists. He said, in these hard times, the EU should not allow deliberate misuse of taxpayer's money in their objective to help the developing countriesadvance peace and stability,while promoting freedom and democracy.

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Tidbits:

Diplomatic talksof “Isolation Warning” shows that policy-makers and the international business community do not embrace each other. A careful examination of Israel shows an increasingly impressive global standing in the integration of the Jewish state - economically, technologically and scientifically. Israel's unique innovations in medicine, health, agriculture, irrigation, education, science, technology and defensehave prevailed over anti-Israel orientation and the Palestinian-Israeli issues.