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Saudi Arabia Offers to Resume Palestinian Authority Funding
(Wall Street Journal) Dion Nissenbaum - Saudi Arabia is offering to resume financial support to the Palestinian Authority, said Saudi officials and former Palestinian officials. The kingdom has pumped more than $5 billion into Palestinian causes, including direct support to the Palestinian Authority. But Riyadh began cutting back funding to the PA in 2016 amid allegations of incompetence and corruption, with aid plunging from $174 million a year in 2019 to zero in 2021. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has connected the resumption of aid to the PA cracking down on militant groups and violence in the West Bank. Militant groups hold more power than Palestinian security forces in some cities. Saudi leaders have told U.S. officials that they expect Palestinians to accept concessions short of statehood and that the Palestinians won't have any power to veto a Saudi-Israel deal.