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EU Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Poul Nielson of Denmark
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The European Commission said today it was allocating an additional euro 5 million (£3.9 million) in emergency humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
The aid is for the "victims of the ongoing crisis in the West Bank and Gaza strip," said a statement from Development and Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Mr Poul Nielson.
"The economic and social situation has grown progressively worse, leading to a rapid deterioration in daily living conditions for much of the population," it said, adding the money would focus on "vulnerable groups, notably women and children".
Since the beginning of 2000, it said, ECHO, the commission's humanitarian aid office, has provided 39 million euros (£30.7 million) in humanitarian aid to the Middle East - most of it to Palestinian refugees and residents of the West Bank and Gaza.
AFP