Sunday, January 15, 2012

Palestinian PM warns of aid-cut threats

RAMALLAH - Prime Minister of the Palestinian caretaking government Salam Fayyad on Saturday warned that threats to cut off international aids to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) would harm its performance.

Such threats would also weaken the PNA's confidence in executing developing projects and halt the cycle of Palestinian economy, Fayyad said.

The prominent Palestinian economist made the remarks in the southern West Bank city of Hebron before a group of notables at a school of sports and culture, which South Korea financed with $6 million.

"Cutting off aids would be destructive," Fayyad said, stressing that Palestinians' decisions have "never been linked to aids and will never be."

Since the PNA was established in 1994 after Israel and Palestine Liberation Organization signed a peace treaty, it has been depending on aids from the world's donors.

However, the prime minister said, "the Palestinian Authority has been self-dependent over the past several years," adding that "this has made the PNA able to exist if donations and aids suddenly stop."

Fayyad stressed that the ongoing internal Palestinian division has been an obstacle for the Palestinian government to execute developing plans, mainly in the Gaza Strip, and that the PNA is facing severe problems.

chinadaily.com.cn

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