EU funded water pipelines despite Hamas boast it could turn them into rockets
The European Union helped to build more than 30 miles of water pipelines for Palestinians despite
Hamas terrorists boasting of their ability to forge an arsenal of home-made rockets from pipes.
Brussels has poured almost €100 million into pipeline projects in territories controlled by the Islamist group over the last decade, a Telegraph analysis of the bloc’s foreign aid found.
The revelation comes amid a mounting international row over future handouts to Gaza amid fears humanitarian donations could fall into the
hands of Hamas.
EU foreign ministers on Tuesday night held emergency talks over aid worth €295 million a year to Palestine after the European Commission announced the donations had been placed under review in response to
the terror attack on Israel.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s chief diplomat, announced on Tuesday night that aid to Palestinians would continue, meaning €218 million more will be dispersed to the Palestinian people by the end of this year.
Diplomatic sources said the bloc’s decision to maintain financial support for the Middle Eastern territory had been made after a “very tetchy” meeting between Mr Borrell and Olivér Várhelyi, the EU’s neighbourhood commissioner, who announced
the initial suspension on Monday.
Both Germany and Austria ordered a halt to their bilateral humanitarian support for the region amid fears the cash could assist the terrorists, who hold some 100 Israeli hostages.
But other EU capitals were reluctant to freeze aid, arguing that cutting support would disproportionately punish civilians rather than the perpetrators behind the attack.
Some sceptics of the aid blockade said it could undermine potential peace talks or be exploited by Hamas to claim the West has turned its back on Palestinians.
The bloc has pledged a total of €1.18 billion in support from 2021 to 2024 in programmes for the West Bank and Gaza, which are both controlled by the terrorist organisation.
In 2021 footage emerged of Hamas terrorists excavating pipes from the desert that were eventually fashioned into home-made rockets.
Their main armament has been the Qassam rocket, assembled from industrial piping, makeshift rocket fuel of sugar and potassium nitrate fertiliser and commercially available explosives.
On Saturday, Hamas claimed it launched at least 5,000 rockets before mounting a ground assault across the border.
While the Telegraph cannot independently verify the exact weapons used in the mass bombardment, it has raised fears over whether Western-donated building supplies could have been used to manufacture some of the munitions.
Frank Furedi, executive director of the MCC Brussels think-tank, which assisted with the research, said: “Those running EU diplomacy are naive.
“There must be prudent security assessments before giving taxpayers’ money to Palestinian organisations for infrastructure that can be utilised for military ends by Hamas terrorists.”
Between the period of 2015 and 2022, the EU contributed to multiple schemes to help deliver fresh water to Palestinian territories.
The first of which was the “completion of an 18-kilometre (11-mile) pipeline” to provide 75,000 Palestinians with clean, drinking water in Gaza, alongside Unicef.
The pipeline transported desalinated seawater from a plant to the settlements of Khan Yunis and Rafah in southern Gaza, where it was estimated that 95 per cent of water was unfit for human consumption.
Another scheme delivered 2.6 miles of pipelines as part of a sewage treatment plant in Tubas, Tayasir and Aqqaba, south of known Hamas hotspot Jenin.
By the next year, EU humanitarian aid missions had further delivered some 16 miles of water pipelines to Palestine territory.
The EU steadily increased its donations of cash towards the construction of pipelines in territories controlled by Hamas.
In 2021, publicly-available information showed the EU provided €9 million for the purchase of “new bulk water pipes” in Gaza City and Jabalia, adding to a 32-mile network of sewage pipes.
In 2022, the EU announced another 10 miles of pipelines would be built using EU funds.
This year, documents show £26 million has been spent by Brussels on new pipelines, without specifying any particular lengths.
The Commission this week insisted its money hadn’t been handed to Hamas.
“The EU is not funding Hamas or their terrorist activities directly or indirectly,” it said.
The EU’s Brussels-based executive has maintained a “no contact policy” with the terror group since 2007.
The UK has committed funds to connect some 425,000 Palestinians to drinking water and sewage systems, without detailing whether British cash bought pipes.
An FCDO spokesman said: “UK aid is subject to rigorous oversight to ensure it reaches the most vulnerable with maximum impact, and to minimise risks of diversion.
“Absolutely no funding goes to Hamas, and our aid is targeted towards providing vulnerable civilians with essential and lifesaving assistance.”
European Union is continuing aid to Palestinians amid growing fears over how it is being used
www.telegraph.co.uk