 The Palestinian Authority (PA) has turned to Arab countries for help in ending what the Palestinian finance minister calls a suffocating financial crisis after European donors froze their funding. Abbas has been on a begging diplomatic tour of Gulf Arab states in recent days. He visited Qatar on Monday. Salam Fayyad, who recently stepped down as finance minister in order to run for parliament, said the PA was in dire straits. "We are in desperate need of Arab aid," he said.
Fayad, who is expected to return to the finance post after the 25 January election, said international aid had helped cover about one-third of a $1 billion deficit in the 2005 operating budget, and the Palestinians were searching for more help in covering the remainder. The Palestinians are heavily dependent on foreign aid from Western donors and Arab states. But with the exception of Saudi Arabia, Arab countries have largely failed to keep their financial pledges to the Palestinians.
| Quicker to pledge than they are to actually pay up, are they? |
| Paleos are lucky the EU is around to pony up. |
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