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EU Diplomat says Financial Crisis Causing Some to Talk of Cutting Back Aid to Palestinians
(AP/Washington Post) Europe's financial crisis is causing some European Union lawmakers to question whether the bloc can continue to deliver millions in aid to the Palestinians, an EU diplomat said Thursday. The EU is the largest single donor to the Palestinians, contributing about 500 million euros ($720 million) a year to build institutions for a future state and pay salaries. With peace talks deadlocked, the diplomat said that some EU lawmakers doubt a Palestinian state will ever emerge. Foreign donations make up about a quarter of the Palestinian Authority's $3.7 billion annual budget. In July, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad halved the salaries of government employees and appealed to the international community to bridge a $640 million shortfall caused largely by Arab countries' unfulfilled pledges.