Italy Grants $11 Million to Bolster Palestinian Healthcare
RAMALLAH- Italy has approved a €10 million ($11.53 million) grant to support the Palestinian Authority’s budget, with the funding earmarked for the healthcare sector in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials announced on Sunday.
The grant agreement was signed in Ramallah by Palestinian Minister of Finance and Planning Estephan Salameh and Italian Consul General Domenico Bellato, marking the latest step in Italy’s financial support for Palestinian institutions.
According to the Palestine News Agency, the funding will be directed toward healthcare services and medical assistance for Palestinians as the occupied West Bank faces increased Israeli military operations and raids.
The financial package comes as the Palestinian Authority confronts mounting fiscal and political pressures while addressing humanitarian needs in both the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
European donors have continued to provide financial assistance while pressing the Palestinian Authority to implement political and institutional reforms.
In July, participants at the second ministerial meeting of the Palestine Donor Group in Brussels, representing 65 European Union delegations, pledged an initial €883.6 million package to support key sectors in Gaza, including healthcare, water and sanitation, waste management, energy, agriculture and food security.
The latest Italian contribution follows broader European efforts to sustain Palestinian public institutions and essential services amid the humanitarian crisis stemming from the war between Israel and Hamas, which began in 2023.
The Palestinian Authority has also announced legislative elections for Nov. 28, which would be the first parliamentary vote held in nearly two decades.
