EU flag. Photo: S. Solberg J.

JNS.org – A senior Palestinian Authority official told Israel Hayomon Tuesday that many in Ramallah were dissatisfied with the European Union’s decision to withhold economic grants and incentives to Israeli companies situated in Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights (areas beyond Israel’s pre-1967 lines).

“For our part, we approached a number of [European] Union officials, in the [Palestinian] Authority and also in Israel, to try and prevent the decision or at least to keep it unofficial,” said the official, who declined to give his name. “It’s not just Israeli companies that are going to be hit economically, it’s also going to be disastrous economically and socially for the Palestinian community.”

According to the Palestinian official, the European move will freeze joint projects, force employers to stop hiring Palestinians to work on joint projects with Israelis and lead to widespread layoffs of Palestinians laborers working in Judea and Samaria industrial zones.

Sammer Darawsha, who works in a hothouse that is a part of a joint Israeli-Palestinian agricultural project funded by members of the EU and situated near the Halamish community, said the decision will “affect everyone, whether Jew or Palestinian.”

“If they take away our livelihoods and food, exactly what kind of peace will be here?” Darawsha said.