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Australia Ends Direct Aid to Palestinian Authority
(AP-ABC News) Australia has ended direct aid to the Palestinian Authority because it says its donations could increase the PA's capacity to pay Palestinians convicted of politically-motivated violence. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Monday that funding to a World Bank trust fund was cut after she wrote to the PA in May seeking assurance that Australian funding was not being misspent. She expressed concern that providing further funds allows the authority to use its own budget to spend on activities that "Australia would never support." Australia's $7.4 million donation would now be re-routed to the UN Humanitarian Fund for the Palestinian Territories, which aids in health care, food, water, improved sanitation and shelter.