Iran will be offering the Palestinian Authority financial assistance to the tune of USD 50 million, Iranian television reported Sunday evening.
At this time it is unclear how and when the funds will be transferred, and whether the Iranians would be able to transfer the money to the Palestinians.
PA Crisis
PA finance minister: Salaries to be paid / Roee Nahmias
Palestinian Authority expects to receive loans, grants next week, which will enable it to pay Palestinian clerks' overdue salaries, Omar Abdel Razek says
Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said Tehran has already earmarked USD 50 million dollars for assistance to the Palestinian people. The official Iranian news agency reported that Mottaki made the remarks at the concluding session of the international conference of support for the Palestinian people, held in Tehran in recent days.
The Tehran conference was attended by several terror leaders in the Middle East. During the conference, Hamas' Politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal made it clear "the Palestinians will never recognize Israel" and added there was no point in initiating talks with the Jewish State.
On Friday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke at the conference and said Israel's existence constitutes a "threat on the Islamic world," but vowed to remove the threat soon, characterizing Israel as a "rotten tree."
Unpaid salaries
Earlier Sunday, Palestinian Finance Minister Omar Abdel Razek announced that the PA is expecting to receive loans and grants next week that would allow it to pay public service salaries held back since last month.
The statements were reported by Palestinian newspaper al-Hayat al-Jadida, but the minister did not specify where the money would arrive from and did not provide actual sums.
Meanwhile, 140,000 Palestinian Authority officials are waiting for their salaries to be paid.
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