PARIS -- French President Jacques Chirac called Friday for the creation of a World Bank fund to pay the salaries of Palestinian officials, his office said after he met with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.France will raise the issue during talks May 9 with the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia _ the four key international players behind the stalled "road map" peace plan, Chirac spokesman Jerome Bonnafont said.
France and other European Union nations earlier this month cut off direct aid to the Palestinian government after Hamas' election victory. The European Union is the largest donor to the Palestinians, with aid totaling more than $600 million a year. International sanctions have left the Hamas-led government unable to pay salaries to 165,000 Palestinian government employees.
France believes aid "must be maintained for humanitarian reasons, as well as for political reasons," Chirac said before going into the talks with Abbas. "And it will push for this continuance (of aid) within the international community and notably within the European Union."
| Political reasons -- that's our Jacques! And he's not even subtle about it. |
Chirac