“The scale of terror and brutality against Israel and its people is a turning point. There can be no business as usual,” declared EU Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi. Austria and Germany have  annnounced the same move.

Following Saturday’s attacks on Israel by terrorist group Hamas, the the European Commission put all of its funding for the Palestinian Authority under  review.

The decision was announced Monday by European Commission for Neighbourhood Policy Oliver Varhelyi.

“The scale of terror and brutality against Israel and its people is a turning point. There can be no business as usual,” he declared. Austria and Germany have  annnounced the same move.

“As the biggest donor of the Palestinians, the European Commission is putting its full development portfolio under review, worth a total of 691million euros,” he said.

According to Várhelyi, this would include “all payments immediately suspended, all projects put under review, all new budget proposals, including for 2023 postponed under further notice [and]a comprehensive assessment of the whole portfolio”.

The EU had pledged €1.18 billion in financial support from 2021 to 2024 in a joint programme for the West Bank and Gaza..

German Development Minister Svenja Schulze said on Sunday evening the German government had to review “its entire engagement for the Palestinian territories”, while Berlin announced on Monday that bilateral aid worth €125 million due this year has been suspended pending a “comprehensive” examination into how much aid was being used.

Austria’s Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said his country has stopped its financial aid because of  “the extent of the terror is so horrific (…) that we cannot go back to business as usual”.

“We will therefore put all payments from Austrian development cooperation on ice for the time being,” he said.

EU Foreign Ministers are due to hold an emergency meeting via video link on Tuesday to discuss both the situation in Israel and future funding for Palestinians.

‘’We stand united in our condemnation of the heinous attacks against Israel,’’ wrote EU foreign policvy chief Josep Borrell on X (formerly Twitter) after a meeting in Oman with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, German Foreign Minister Barbock, British Foreign Minister James Cleverly and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

‘’Protection of civilians is of utmost priority. Hostages must be released. Regional escalation must be avoided and stability preserved,’’ he added.

On Sunday, Borrell issued a statement on behalf of the EU, condemning “in the strongest possible terms the multiple and indiscriminate attacks across Israel by Hamas.”

According to Politico, several countries — including Ireland, Luxembourg and Denmark — sought that a reference for the need to de-escalate be included in the joint text, but this was opposed by others including Austria because such a call for de-escalation could be considered as describing the actions of both sides as equivalent.

On Saturday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen issued a strong statement in favor of Israel. “I unequivocally condemn the attack carried out by Hamas terrorists against Israel. it is terrorism in its most despicable form.”

“Israel has the right to defend itself against such heinous attacks,” she added.

Hamas has killed at least 800 Israelis and wounded more than 2,300 on Saturday in a massive offensive that included the launch of thousands of rockets at the Jewish state.

Of the 2,382 wounded, 22 remain in critical condition, according to the Israeli Health Ministry. In addition, 345 Israelis sustained severe wounds.