German govt to release frozen aid money for Gaza

Amman [Jordan], November 8: Germany will resume its funding and development cooperation with the UN's Palestinian relief agency (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip, citing the growing plight of civilians in the territory.
German Development Minister Svenja Schulze announced the decision on Tuesday in Amman following talks with UNWRA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
"Israel's fight is against Hamas, but the Palestinians are not Hamas," Schulze said in explaining her decision.
Germany temporarily froze funding for UNRWA development projects a month ago following surprise attacks on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas.
Israeli warplanes have pounded Gaza with continuous strikes ever since the Hamas attacks on October 7. An Israeli ground campaign into Gaza has also expanded in recent days.
Israel has largely sealed off Gaza, a densely packed area home to more than 2.2 million people, as part of a "total siege," with only a trickle of aid entering through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
Lazzarini praised Germany's decision to release the aid and reiterated the United Nations' call for a humanitarian ceasefire. The few trucks delivering aid via Rafah were not enough, he said.
The German Development Ministry said Euro71 million ($76 million) in planned funding for UNRWA will be released and an additional ?20 million made available in view of current needs.
Among the German-funded UNRWA projects is an effort to establish a permanent supply of drinking water, as well as hygiene and sanitary facilities in emergency shelters for people displaced within the Gaza Strip.
"We see the great suffering of the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza and want to alleviate it," Schulze said.
Schulze is also scheduled to meet with Jordanian Prime Minister BisherKhasawneh, although there will not be a joint press conference at the request of the Jordanians.
On Monday, Khasawneh angered the Israelis by warning that Jordan would regard any mass expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank or Gaza as a "declaration of war." He also condemned the "brutal Israeli attack" which "does not discriminate between civilian and military targets" in remarks to state news agency Petra.
Several Jordanian officials visibly flinched when Schulze praised the country's "solidarity" in taking "refugees from neighboring countries" during a speech, which may have been taken as a reference to possible expulsions of Palestinians.
Schulze made a point of stressing the German government's disagreement with Jordan's criticism of Israeli attacks on Gaza.
The German government is certain that Israel is complying with international law in its extensive bombardment and ongoing ground offensive, Schulze said.
Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister AnnalenaBaerbock said that more than 30 additional German citizens left the Gaza Strip on Monday evening, bringing the total number of Germans who have managed to leave the besieged Palestinian territory to more than 50.
Baerbock, who addressed the situation in Gaza after arriving in Tokyo for a meeting with G7 foreign ministers, said that family members of German citizens are counted among those who managed to leave.
Baerbock said she has repeatedly pressed other G7 foreign ministers to back a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza in order to deliver needed supplies to civilians caught in the fighting.
The people in Gaza need water, bread and, above all, medical care, Baerbock said, "and the most seriously injured must finally be treated." In Berlin, the Palestinian Authority's diplomatic representative to Germany, LaithArafeh, thanked pro-Palestinian demonstrators for their support.
The Palestinian Authority holds limited power in the Israeli-occupied West Bank but was largely driven out of Gaza when Hamas seized power by force in 2007.
Arafeh said that "more than 10,000 Palestinian civilians have now been killed, including 4,000 children and 3,000 women" during Israel's month-long campaign in Gaza. He warned that anyone who supported a "continuation of aggression" was on the wrong side of history.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have sparked intense controversy in Germany following repeated incidents in which individual protesters voiced support for Hamas, shouted anti-Semitic slogans or questioned Israel's right to exist.
German authorities have issued outright bans on many gatherings, while others have proceeded only under the close watch of police.
Leading German politicians, meanwhile, have demanded that German Muslims denounce anti-Israeli rhetoric.
"It is very regrettable that calls for justice and a ceasefire continue to be denigrated and falsely labelled as support for terrorism," Arafeh said in a statement, which was made available to dpa.
"We are grateful to the tens of thousands who have raised their voices for justice and freedom in Palestine," Arafeh wrote.
Source: Qatar Tribune