PA President Mahmoud Abbas will ask Arab countries for urgent financial aid to
the Palestinians during the upcoming Arab League summit in Iraq, Palestinian
officials in Ramallah said Wednesday.
The officials complained that the
Arab countries have failed to fulfill previous promises to provide financial aid
to the Palestinians.
They said the Palestinian Authority is facing a
severe financial crisis because of the failure of those countries and some
Western donors to meet their obligations to the Palestinians.
PA Minister
of Labor Ahmed Majdalani noted that the deficit in the PA budget was estimated
at nearly $2 billion.
He said that Abbas, who is expected to attend the
summit in Baghdad opening Thursday, will stress the need to support the
Palestinians financially “in the face of Israeli efforts to Judaize
Jerusalem.”
PLO Secretary-General Yasser Abed Rabbo urged the Arab
countries to support the Palestinians “politically and financially.” Abed
Rabbo also appealed to the international community to intervene to salvage the
peace process. He said the road to peace was blocked because of Israel’s
insistence on building in the settlements and east Jerusalem.