| Submit your comments on this article |
| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Arab states expected to speed aid to Palestinians |
| 2006-02-02 |
| RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and other Arab states are expected to speed money to the Palestinian Authority within days to help it pay its employees after Israel halted tax payments, Palestinian officials said. Ahmed Qurie, prime minister until the formation of a new post-election government, said the cash-strapped governing authority was forced to turn to its "Arab brothers" to cushion the economic blow of Israel's decision. But Qurie and other Palestinian officials still held out hope that the Jewish state, under U.S. pressure, would agree to transfer the money owed. Israel froze automatic payments on Wednesday, a week after the election victory of the Islamic militant group Hamas. It had been scheduled to transfer nearly $55 million. Palestinian customs revenue collected by Israel is the main source of funding for the Palestinian Authority's budget, and is used to pay 140,000 government workers. To make up for lost revenue, the Palestinians had hoped to receive an initial cash infusion of at least $33 million on Thursday from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. But Jihad al-Wazir, the acting Palestinian Minister of Finance, said Arab states were not expected to make any payments before Saturday. He said negotiations were ongoing. "This aid is for the Palestinian people and its authority so it can carry out its duties," Qurie said. The Saudi contribution was expected to top $20 million. Qatar was expected to provide more than $13 million. Wazir said the United Arab Emirates would also make a contribution, but he did not provide a figure. Talks were also underway with Kuwait, Egypt and Jordan, officials said. "We expect that (Palestinian) employees can withdraw salaries next week," Wazir told Reuters. But a Palestinian diplomat in Qatar denied that the $33 million figure was emergency aid. The diplomat told Reuters in Doha that Qatar and Saudi Arabia had agreed to donate $13 million and $20 million respectively before the elections. A Riyadh-based Palestinian diplomat said Saudi Arabia will begin talks this month with the Palestinian Authority over financial aid of at least $1.2 billion to plug its widening budget deficit. U.S. PRESSURE The United States has urged Israel to keep up the tax payments, at least until Hamas formally enters the government. Israel has not ruled out restarting payments after completing a policy review ordered by interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. But Olmert has called for a boycott of any Palestinian government that includes Hamas, whose charter calls for Israel's destruction. "We hope that Israel will release the money immediately," Qurie said at the start of a cabinet meeting in Ramallah. Hamas, which has carried out nearly 60 suicide bombings since a Palestinian uprising began in 2000, trounced Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's long-dominant Fatah movement in the January 25 parliamentary election. In a joint statement issued in Islamabad, Islamic allies Pakistan and Saudi Arabia urged the world to accept Hamas's victory and "avoid premature judgments and hasty conclusions." Hamas has urged foreign donors to maintain aid but says it could still find other sources of funding in the Arab world. It has sent a delegation on a tour of Arab countries to urge them to keep the money flowing. Unemployment in the Palestinian territories runs high, at 22 percent, and half the Palestinian population lives in poverty. In Gaza, many Palestinians live on an average of $2 a day. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #1 "We expect that (Palestinian) employees can withdraw salaries next week," All is well they told us the checks in the mail. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2006-02-02 18:24 |