Palestinian President Calls on Arab Countries for Financial Support

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reads a statement as he meets French President Emmanuel Macron, in Ramallah, West Bank, October 24, 2023. Christophe Ena/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reads a statement as he meets French President Emmanuel Macron, in Ramallah, West Bank, October 24, 2023. Christophe Ena/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Palestinian President Calls on Arab Countries for Financial Support

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reads a statement as he meets French President Emmanuel Macron, in Ramallah, West Bank, October 24, 2023. Christophe Ena/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reads a statement as he meets French President Emmanuel Macron, in Ramallah, West Bank, October 24, 2023. Christophe Ena/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

The Palestinian government has not received the financial support it had expected from international and regional partners, President Mahmoud Abbas said at the Arab League summit in Manama on Thursday.

"It has now become critical to activate the Arab safety net, to boost the resilience of our people and to enable the government to carry out its duties," Abbas said.

Funding of the Palestinian Authority, the body which exercises limited governance of the occupied West Bank, has been severely restricted by a dispute over transferring tax revenue Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinians.

Funding from international donors has also been squeezed, falling from 30% of the $6 billion annual budget to around 1%, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has said.

 

 

 

 

 



Berri: Bloodshed in South Lebanon is ‘Urgent Call’ to Compel Israel to Withdraw

26 January 2025, Lebanon, Kfarkila: A Lebanese soldier opens the road to an ambulance carrying a wounded Lebanese shot by Israeli army as he tried to enter into his southern Lebanese village of Aitaroun. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
26 January 2025, Lebanon, Kfarkila: A Lebanese soldier opens the road to an ambulance carrying a wounded Lebanese shot by Israeli army as he tried to enter into his southern Lebanese village of Aitaroun. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
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Berri: Bloodshed in South Lebanon is ‘Urgent Call’ to Compel Israel to Withdraw

26 January 2025, Lebanon, Kfarkila: A Lebanese soldier opens the road to an ambulance carrying a wounded Lebanese shot by Israeli army as he tried to enter into his southern Lebanese village of Aitaroun. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
26 January 2025, Lebanon, Kfarkila: A Lebanese soldier opens the road to an ambulance carrying a wounded Lebanese shot by Israeli army as he tried to enter into his southern Lebanese village of Aitaroun. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa

Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said that Sunday's bloodshed in southern Lebanon “is a clear and urgent call for the international community to act immediately.”

Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on Sunday opened fire on protesters demanding their withdrawal in line with a ceasefire agreement, killing at least 22 and injuring 124, Lebanese health officials reported.
The dead included six women and a Lebanese army soldier, the Health Ministry said in a statement. People were reported wounded in nearly 20 villages in the border area.

In remarks carried by the Lebanese media, Berri also said that the international community should “compel Israel to withdraw from occupied Lebanese territories.”

Berri, whose Amal Movement party is allied with Hezbollah, served as an interlocutor between the militant group and the US during ceasefire negotiations.