Palestinian Minister of Economy Maher Al Masri said that the Palestinians would ask the Arab summit, due to start on March 27th, to implement the recommendations adopted at the last meeting in Cairo in October, regarding the financial support promised for his people by the Arab heads of states.
In an interview with Albawaba.com on Saturday, the minister described the economic situation in the Palestinian lands as “bad,” calling on the Arabs to activate the one billion dollar Aqsa and Intifada funds proposed in Cairo. He said the money is badly needed to set up projects, create job opportunities for the massive number of unemployed workers and support the PNA budget to enable the leadership to stand up to the challenges created by Israel which has held back money it owed to the PNA since the outbreak of the Intifada.
However, Masri said that Saudi Arabia, which has promised 25 percent of the funds, “is heading towards keeping its promise.”
Commenting on a decision taken by the Arab foreign ministers to provide the PNA with a 40-million endowment for six months, the minister said that with the austerity measures taken by the authority, the money would be enough to pay salaries and fulfill its minimum responsibilities.
Masri said the deficit in the Palestinian balance has amounted to $200, and that the PNA has resorted to borrowing from local and Arab banks. He said the money will be paid off as soon as Israel releases the confiscated Palestinian money, which Israel collected for the PNA in custom fees and taxes on Palestinian workers inside Israel.
He charged that Israel keeps the money as “ a pressure card.” As to the EU countries, only a million dollars have been sent to the Palestinians pending a decision from the European Commission and EU foreign ministers to authorize the donations.
Meanwhile, Israel is impeding trade between Palestinians on the one hand, and Jordan and Egypt on the other despite signed agreements between the Jewish state and both countries.
“We will demand Amman and Cairo to press Israel to commit to these agreements,” Masri said – Albawaba.com
