Thirty Palestinian civil society organizations will receive grants from the European Union in exchange for spreading electoral and democratic awareness among the Palestinian public.

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“Strong political institutions are institutions empowered by the people and accountable to the people,” EU's Palestinian Representative Ralph Tarraf said. “This is why the democratic processes are important, leading to representative and accountable governments.”

The EU encouraged the Palestinians a number of years ago to engage in free and fair democratic elections. However, they imposed a temporary halt of financial support to the Palestinian Authority after the Palestinians elected the Hamas terror group in the parliamentary elections of 2006.

The EU, along with the US renewed full support for the Palestinian Authority when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas unilaterally removed Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in 2007 and appointed Salam Fayyad instead.

Palestinian elections in 2006 (Photo: Yaron Brener)

EU Representative Tarraf remains hopeful despite prior disappointments with attempts to implement an accountable and authentic democratic process in the Palestinian Authority.

“We want to ensure through this project that Palestinians are confident that their voices are important, that they will be heard, and that they can make a difference,” explained Tarraf. “We believe that it will contribute to preparing a generation of Palestinians who truly believe in the values of participation and democracy.”

The chairman of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission, Dr. Hanna Nasir, believes that support for such civil society organizations is critical in creating a democratic environment.

“This project aims to activate the role of civil society institutions in enhancing political participation among the Palestinian public and strengthening relations with them since they are one of the main partners of the commission,” responded Dr. Nasir.

The project is to be implemented in two phases with each phase lasting approximately six months. The first phase is scheduled to start this month and the second is scheduled to begin in May.