PA seeks financial aid in Mecca summit
Palestinian President Abbas to present financial aid program in Saudi Arabia summit; hopes fellow Islamic countries help out
"We'll need hundreds of millions of dollars to implement the program," said the PA's Minister of Religious Endowments, Mahmoud Habash. "We hope the Islamic countries will help us."
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Abbas will also raise political issues in the summit. He will discuss the PA's intention to ask the UN to upgrade its status in the organization, the reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, and the disputes with Israel.
Abbas in Mecca (Photos: EPA)
On Sunday, Palestinian officials performed the Umra rituals which are part of the pilgrimage to Mecca before the upcoming Eid ul-Fitr holiday.
The Palestinian delegation to the summit includes chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and Majid Faraj, head of the Palestinian Authority's general intelligence.
Neither the PA or Hamas have issued a comment on the recent changes in Egypt's military personnel yet one could sense that Hamas is satisfied with the situation.
On Sunday Ismail Haniyeh, PM for Hamas, congratulated Egypt's new defense minister Abdelfattah Assisi on the phone and said Hamas is willing to cooperate with Egypt in order to preserve its security.
Hamas minister of interior, Fathi Hammad, said the new Egyptian government shouldn't follow former president Mubarak's footsteps.
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