Published On 4/29/2026
The European Union announced the provision of financial support to hospitals in the occupied city of Jerusalem, which is suffering from a stifling financial crisis as a result of the accumulation of its debts owed to the Palestinian Authority.
This came in a statement by the European Union representative in Palestine, Alexander Stutzmann, during his visit, yesterday, Tuesday, to the Augusta Victoria Hospital (Al-Mutala’) in Jerusalem, noting that an amount of 9 million and 290 thousand euros had been disbursed “for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority to support medical transfers to hospitals in East Jerusalem,” according to a statement from his office in Ramallah.
Finland, Italy, Switzerland, and Luxembourg contributed financial support, with estimates of providing an additional 20 million euros from the Union budget later this year, according to the statement.
The European Union explained that this support “will help the Palestinian Authority fulfill part of its financial obligations towards East Jerusalem hospitals in light of the unprecedented financial pressures it faces as a result of Israel’s withholding of transfers of tax clearance revenues since May 2025.”
The clearing is tax revenues on goods imported into the Palestinian territories that Israel collects from the ports it controls and transfers them to the Palestinian Authority monthly in exchange for a commission. However, since 2019, Israel decided to deduct amounts from them before stopping their transfer completely about a year ago, which plunged the Authority into a financial crisis that made it unable to pay the salaries of its employees in full, with debts accumulating on the private sector and local banks.
Last February, Palestinian Finance Minister Estephan Salameh said that the total amount of clearance funds held by Israel is equivalent to $4.4 billion (about 13 billion shekels).
The statement pointed out that these hospitals are suffering from severe pressure to continue providing basic health care services to Palestinian patients in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Since 2013, the European Union, its Member States and like-minded partners have provided regular support to the Palestinian Authority through regular contributions to cover the costs of medical transfers to Jerusalem hospitals, which have so far amounted to more than 225 million euros, according to an EU statement.
Alexander Stutzman said – during his visit to Al-Ma’talla – that the European Union, its member states and partners “confirm, through this contribution, their commitment to ensuring that all Palestinians have access to basic medical services.”
He pointed out that the Palestinian health sector is going through an extremely fragile situation, and the Palestinian Authority is struggling to fulfill its financial obligations to this sector after months of Israel withholding tax revenue transfers, and the health situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate.
On the other hand, the European official called on Israel “urgently to reopen the Gaza crossings,” because “this is necessary to allow the delivery of medical supplies to hospitals and the evacuation of critically ill patients to hospitals in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.”
As of mid-2024, the debts owed by the Palestinian Authority to the six East Jerusalem hospitals exceeded $100 million, with 80 to 85% of these debts owed to the Al-Mutala’ and Al-Maqasid hospitals.
