Palestinian President Abbas Expects Financial Support from Arab Countries

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. (Source: UN/Cia Pak)

JAKARTA - The Palestinian government has not received the expected financial support from international and regional partners, referring to the activation of the financial safety net agreed upon by Arab countries.

This was conveyed by President Mahmoud Abbas at the Arab League meeting held on Thursday.

"Now it is very important to activate the Arab safety net, to increase the resilience of our people and to enable the government to carry out its duties," said President Abbas, quoted by Reuters, May 17.

It is known that the funding of the Palestinian Authority, the body that runs a limited government in the occupied West Bank, has been severely restricted due to a dispute over the transfer of tax revenues collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, funding from international donors has also been reduced, dropping by 30 percent from an annual budget of USD 6 billion to around 1 percent, said former Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh.

Earlier this month, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Retno Marsudi, also said that it was necessary to activate the safety net that President Abbas referred to.

In a meeting entitled "15th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference" in Banjul, Gambia, Foreign Minister Retno reminded again that the previously agreed Islamic Financial Safety Net could be immediately activated so that it could help the Palestinian people.