Russia offers aid to Hamas

Russia said it had promised emergency aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority, breaking with fellow mediators the EU and the US, which have stopped funding to try to force Hamas to recognise Israel.

A Foreign Ministry statement said the offer came in a telephone conversation on Friday between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

"Mahmoud Abbas highly appreciated the intention of Russia, confirmed by Lavrov, to grant the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority urgent financial aid in the nearest time," it said.

Russia is a member of the quartet of Middle East mediators searching for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, along with the United Nations, the EU and the United States.

ABC Online

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"Iran has offered to donate more than £30m to the Palestinian Authority to help it deal with a budget crisis caused by the withdrawal of aid by western nations.

It is the first solid promise of cash for the new Hamas government, which has not been able to pay about 130,000 workers, raising the risk of a complete collapse in the aid-dependent economy.

Russia has also offered to provide aid, although it has not stipulated what it is offering and how it will be paid.

Manouchehr Mottaki, the Iranian foreign minister, said he was honoured to help the Palestinian nation and called on other Muslim nations to follow suit. However, Muslim countries have been reluctant publicly to go against the US-supported policy of isolating Hamas."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1755315,00.html

Iran is not alone: Syria announces the launching of a fundraising campaign that would allow all Syrian citizens to donate money to Palestinians. Syrian VP: Money aimed at averting real disaster in Palestine. Earlier, Iran says it will give PA 50 million dollars

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3240505,00.html

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"Syria's Vice President Farouk al-Shara announced Sunday that Syrian citizens would be able to donate money to the Palestinian people and government in the framework of a fundraising campaign to be launched soon.

The announcement was made during a joint press conference held by al-Shara and former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was visiting Damascus. According to al-Shara, Syrian citizens would be able to make their donations through banks, and the funds would be collected under the supervision of a committee and with full transparency.

Al-Shara expressed his hope that "Western countries would not use the excuse that we're talking about a fundraising campaign to fund terrorism. Those funds are meant to avert a real disaster in Palestine."

"We don't wish to cast the responsibility on the Palestinian people as a result of the decision it made in the elections," al-Shara added. "The West bears the responsibly, because it spoke all the time about the need to hold democratic elections in the occupied territories."

... since Israel does not recognize that Palestine exists as an independent non-occupied nation. Both sides must be equally pressured to recognize that both exist. It is bigoted to pressure one more than the other under current conditions.

and demand a change. Now. Even if it is decades late.

The world will need to recognize that Palestine is occupied before it will be able to recognize that Palestine exists. One step must come before the other. Until then, it is bigoted to pressure one side more than the other, since both sides need to exist as independent unoccupied nations who do not annex the land of the other, while both challenge crime.

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"Qatar said Monday it would give the Palestinian government $50 million in aid to help make up for a shortfall after the United States and the European Union cut off funding.

The official Qatar News Agency said the funds were offered to "bolster the budget of the Palestinian authority based on the decision of the Arab summit held in Khartoum" in March."

http://www.nsfwurl.com/p/index.php?url=uggc%3A%2F%2Farjf.lnubb.pbz%2Ff%2Fnc%2F20060417%2Fnc_ba_er_zv_rn%2Fdngne_cnyrfgvavnaf

Palestinian FM Mahmoud al-Zahar says Saudis agree to give Palestinian Authority USD 92.4 million in aid

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3241440,00.html

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"Saudi Arabia has promised to transfer USD 92.4 million in aid to the Hamas-led government, Palestinian Foreign Minister and Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar said Wednesday after a meeting with his Saudi counterpart in Jeddah.

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal who had announced the kingdom's commitment to funneling aid to the Palestinian Authority during the Arab League Summit in Khartoum in March, confirmed the fund transfer on Wednesday during a joint press conference with al-Zahar.


The two men discussed the dire financial situation of the Palestinian Authority and its demands for Arab aid exceeding the amount promised
at the Khartoum summit. Al-Faisal promised to pass on Palestinian demands for more aid to King Abdullah, al-Zahar said.

The cash-strapped Palestinian Authority has been facing a financial crisis since Hamas' victory in the legislative elections in January. The inauguration of the Hamas-led government in March prompted the United States and the European Union to cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority in a bid to pressure Hamas to recognize Israel and renounce violence."