(AP/Washington Post) Slobodan Lekic - U.S. envoy George Mitchell urged European and other international donors on Tuesday to help the Palestinian Authority finance its institution-building program as it prepares to set up a Palestinian state. The meeting in Brussels came as the Obama administration gears up to try to relaunch stalled Israeli-Palestinian talks. The EU is the largest donor to the PA, contributing more than one billion euros last year to help cover its budget and finance economic development. Norway's Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said, "We feel confident that donors will again rally to the challenge and stand up to support a Palestinian state living side by side by Israel." Western-backed Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has announced plans to build institutions regardless of progress in peace talks, aiming to be ready for statehood in two years.
2010-01-13 10:24:29Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive