Europeans cleared of financially supporting Palestinian terrorists

The European Union's anti-fraud office OLAF has cleared the European Commission of Israeli allegations that it knowingly bankrolled Palestinian terrorism. The findings released on Thursday by an independent two-year investigation said there was no conclusive evidence that EU funds were diverted to terrorism, but neither did it rule out possible misuse of funds by the Palestinian Authority (PA). “Some of the practices of the past, such as the payment of salaries to convicted persons or the financial aid given to the families of ‘martyrs’ as well as the Fatah contributions by PA staff, are liable to be misunderstood and so to lead to allegations that the PA is supporting terrorism,” the report said. The report urged the European Union to press the Palestinian Authority to issue guidelines on this aid to “martyrs.”