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Arab League talks on aid for Palestinians fail in wake of economic sanctions
 Arab League foreign ministers have failed to agree on aid for the Palestinians as they come under Hamas' rule, while Turkey slammed Israel's decision to slap economic sanctions on the Palestinian Authority. Only three league members have contributed aid for the Palestinians, Algerian officials said after a meeting in Algiers that ran into late Monday night. The Arab League's Secretary General Amr Moussa and Algerian State Minister Abdel-Aziz Belkhadem appealed at the meeting for all other member states to contribute funds.Speaking at a news conference after the meeting, they did not indicate which countries had not paid or give details of the dispute. The Palestinians' largest donors, the U.S. and the E.U., have threatened to cut off direct aid to the PA if Hamas takes over the government. Such a cutoff would "pose a serious political problem for the Palestinians," Moussa said. In urging more Arab donations, he said "the aid is destined for the Palestinian people and not for Hamas." It is unclear whether Arab states can fill the gap in foreign aid that makes up most of the Palestinians' $1.9 billion annual budget. A final decision on Palestinian funding was expected at a summit next month in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. Foreign ministers and other representatives from the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Sudan, Tunisia, Yemen and Algeria were taking part in the meeting. Posted by: Fred 2006-02-22 |
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