Turkey announced on Monday that it has allocated three million dollars (€3.4 million) in aid to help Palestinians affected by the conflict in the Middle East. “The government has decided to release three million dollars for the brotherly Palestinian people as humanitarian aid to meet urgent needs," a foreign ministry statement said.
"The first, one-million-dollar, part of this aid has been immediately sent," the statement said, without specifying when the remaining amount will be released. In early October, Turkey sent $500,000 and medical supplies to the Palestinian administration when clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians broke out.
Predominantly Muslim, Turkey has been Israel's main regional ally since 1996, when the two countries signed a military cooperation deal that angered most Arab nations and Iran. However Turkey also backs Palestinian demands for statehood and has criticized Israel for using excessive force against them.
Some 50 Palestinians who were wounded in clashes with Israeli forces arrived in Ankara last month to receive medical treatment. — (AFP, Ankara)
© Agence France Presse 2000
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
