US to pledge about $500 million for West Bank Palestinians

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The United States will pledge about $500 million for the moderate-led Palestinian government in the West Bank when Arab, European and other nations meet next week, US officials said Friday. The money would go toward a goal of $5.6 billion that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair hopes to raise to rescue the tattered Palestinian economy and reinforce institutions that would become the backbone of any eventual independent Palestinian state. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will deliver the pledge at a conference Blair has called Monday in Paris, the officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the figure has not been announced and might be changed slightly.