Abbas seeks EU funding

Mahmoud Abbas is in Paris to discuss new ways to channel aid to the Palestinian territories as the economic and social situation there continues to deteriorate.

The president of the Palestinian Authority met with French President Jacques Chirac to discuss plans for a new fund, under the control of the World Bank, which would allow aid to be paid directly to the Palestinian people.

The money would not be paid through the Hamas-led government.

“France proposes that its European and international partners should reflect quickly on a new system that would enable us to resume aid payments,” Chirac said after the meeting.

Abbas, whose Fatah party was defeated by Hamas in the recent elections, has already visited Turkey, Norway and Finland to plead for more cash for the Palestinian Authority.

“Aid to the Palestinian people must be pursued, above all humanitarian aid and aid necessary to pay officials’ salaries,” Abbas said.

“The issue is crucial for the life of the Palestinian people; otherwise we are heading for disaster.”

The EU decided in early April to cut direct aid to the Palestinian Authority after Hamas refused to recognise Israel’s right to exisit or back the peace process - conditions set by the quartet of the EU, the US, Russia and the UN.

EU money is not only used for humanitarian aid - it also helps pay the salaries of Palestinian officials, some 165,000 of whom have not been paid since February.

More than a quarter of the Palestinian population are thought to depend on the salaries of officials.

EU external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner told MEPs on Wednesday that the suspension of EU aid was not “a definitive decision”.

“We are reviewing all the projects that include payments via the Palestinian Authority to find out alternative solutions,” she said.

“We are studying the possibility, with other donators, of setting an international system of supervision that would ease control over funds.”

International aid to the Palestinians is worth .3bn a year, with the EU being the biggest contributor with €500m.

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