The Arab Bank, one of the Middle East's largest financial institutions may close down the Palestinian Authority's treasury account in the face of mounting pressure for it to sever links with the new Hamas-led Palestinian government, informed sources say. Foreign donors have channeled aid money to the Palestinians through the PA's treasury account. On Friday, the European Union announced it had suspended such payments, a decision linked to Hamas refusal to recognise Israel and renounce violence.Earlier this week newsreports citing unidentified Western diplomatic sources, said Hamas had been trying to move the Authority's treasury account from the Amman-based Arab Bank to a local Palestinian bank to try to minimise the risk foreign funds would be frozen. Founded in 1930 in Jerusalem, Arab Bank in 1994 following the creation of the Palestinian Authority re-opened its eight branches in the West Bank and Gaza which it had closed in 1967 in the wake of Six-Day War when Israel annexed large portions of Palestinian territory. It became a founding shareholder in the 200 million dollar Palestine Development and Investment Company (Padico), which was established in 1993 to help revitalise the Palestinian economy.