The foreign ministers from the 25 European Union (EU) countries approved yesterday a freeze of the EU's aid to the Palestinian government, but the EU would continue to provide "necessary" humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.

"The EU Council noted with grave concern that the new Palestinian government has not committed itself to the three principles laid out by the Council and the Quartet in their statements of 30 January: nonviolence, recognition of Israel's right to exist and acceptance of existing agreements," said a press release issued by the EU ministers, who gathered in Luxembourg for a meeting.

"The EU is reviewing its assistance to the Palestinians against the new government's commitment to the aforementioned principles. The (EU) Council recalled that the absence of such commitment will inevitably have an effect on direct assistance to that government," said the press release.

"There will be no aid to (Hamas) government organizations, but we will maintain humanitarian aid," said Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot.

Hamas, which won January's Palestinian legislative elections, is on the EU's list of terrorist organizations, a designation that bars EU officials from any dealings with the group.

However, the EU foreign ministers agreed that "the EU will continue to provide necessary assistance to meet the basic needs of the Palestinian population."

EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said Europe continues to "stand by the Palestinian people.

"It will continue to provide money for electricity, food, education and other projects, so "their basic human needs will be met in the future," she added.

Aid to the Palestinians from the EU and its 25 member nations usually totals around 615 million dollars a year. Funds that have been suspended amount to about half of that, while the remainder comes from bilateral programs - some of which have also been suspended.

The United States, Canada and non-EU member Norway have also cut off payments. The cut in foreign aid comes on top of a decision by Israel to withhold some 50 million dollars a month in tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinians.

The annual Palestinian budget is about 1.9 billion dollars. The 1.3 billion dollars in foreign aid last year accounted for 32 percent of Palestinian gross domestic product, making Palestinians the biggest per capita recipients of foreign aid in the world.