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Shtayyeh: Palestine Received No Financial Aid From US, Arab Countries

A picture taken by drone on Monday of the burial of a man in Gaza who died due to coronavirus. (Reuters)
A picture taken by drone on Monday of the burial of a man in Gaza who died due to coronavirus. (Reuters)
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Shtayyeh: Palestine Received No Financial Aid From US, Arab Countries

A picture taken by drone on Monday of the burial of a man in Gaza who died due to coronavirus. (Reuters)
A picture taken by drone on Monday of the burial of a man in Gaza who died due to coronavirus. (Reuters)

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said on Wednesday that Palestine hasn't received any financial aid from any Arab country or from the US for more than one year.

"Due to lack of Arab funds, the deficiency in the Palestinian budget climbed to one billion US dollars," Shtayyeh told a conference held in the West Bank city of Ramallah on the coronavirus crisis challenges in the country.

"Arab countries haven't sent any financial aid during 2020 until now. In addition, the US has suspended its financial support, which amounted to $500 million per year," he said.

During the conference, the PM said the Palestinian government is ready for austerity and reducing its running cost.

Shtayyeh affirmed that the pandemic has worsened the economic condition, and has negatively affected the psychological, social, health, financial aspects of people's lives. This concurs with annexation schemes, Gaza blockade, Judaization of Jerusalem, settlements, and other political issues.

World Bank Country Director for West Bank and Gaza Kanthan Shankar said that the World Bank has been keen on providing financial aid to the Palestinians since the outbreak of the pandemic.

An amount of $100 million was granted to the Palestinians to reinforce the health system. Further, financial aid was given to the poor families who were influenced by the pandemic, Shankar said.

He underscored the significance of protecting the logistic services and ensuring medical requirements.

Shankar stressed the necessity of taking health precautions, and creating job opportunities in the health sector, and recruiting a sufficient number of employees in this field.

The European Union's representative, Sven Kuehn, said that the EU supported the Palestinian government since the beginning of the pandemic. It granted EUR71 million in addition to EUR5 million to support poor families in the West Bank.

Kuehn added that the EU supported the UNRWAfinacially to fulfill the needs of Palestine’s refugees through its health and relief programs.

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Arab World

MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
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MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

Medical aid agency MSF said on Friday it has been forced to suspend its activities at one of the few remaining hospitals in southern Khartoum due to repeated attacks, cutting off yet another lifeline for those who remain in the Sudanese capital.
War has been raging in Sudan since April 2023, sparked by a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule, triggering the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.
The hospital, which lies in territory controlled by the RSF, helped treat the victims of frequent airstrikes by the Sudanese Armed Forces, as well as hundreds of malnourished women and children in an area where two neighborhoods have been judged at risk of famine, reported Reuters.
"In the 20 months MSF teams have worked alongside hospital staff and volunteers, Bashair Hospital has experienced repeated incidents of armed fighters entering the hospital with weapons and threatening medical staff, often demanding fighters be treated before other patients," MSF said in a statement.
"Despite extensive engagements with all stakeholders, these attacks have continued in recent months. MSF has now taken the very difficult decision to suspend all medical activities in the hospital."
The fighting in Sudan has cut off up to 80% of hospitals in conflict areas, where millions who cannot afford to escape the violence remain. Civilians face frequent air and artillery fire and hunger as supplies are blocked by both warring parties and prices skyrocket.
Medical facilities, including MSF-supported ones that have suspended operations, have frequently come under attack by RSF soldiers demanding treatment or looting supplies. Bashair Hospital has served more than 25,000 people, MSF said, including 9,000 hurt by blasts, gunshot wounds, and other violence.
"Sometimes dozens of people arrived at the hospital at the same time after shelling or airstrikes on residential areas and markets," MSF said in the statement, citing an incident on Sunday where an airstrike one kilometer away drove 50 people to the emergency room, 12 of them already dead.