Abbas asks Arab League to meet on PA financial crisis

Palestinian Authority president requests help from regional allies after Fayyad had said PA can't pay salaries due to int'l aid drying up.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Abbas 311 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Abbas 311
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has asked the Arab League to hold a special meeting to discuss the PA's dire financial crisis, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported on Monday.
According to the report, Abbas requested the meeting in a phone call with Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby.
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The meeting will be attended by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the report added.
Earlier this month, Fayyad announced that the Palestinian Authority will pay only half salaries to its civil servants for June.
Fayyad attributed the crisis to failure of donor countries to meet their financial obligations to the Palestinians.
He noted his government has nevertheless succeeded in reducing its reliance on international aid to less than one billion dollars a year.
In the past, he said, the PA government used to get nearly two billion dollars a year from the international community.
He called on donor countries to quickly provide the needed funds to help the PA.