RIYADH, 12 June — Amid calls for generating more local support for the Palestinian uprising, Minister of Interior Prince Naif, who heads the Saudi Committee to Support Al-Quds Intifada, has announced the release of SR8.625 million to help the victims of Israeli aggression in occupied Palestine.
The committee in a statement yesterday, urged Saudis and expatriates to extend help to the Palestinians in their struggle to restore their legitimate rights. The panel renewed its call for urgent relief at a time when economic condition of Palestinian people has turned from bad to worse. The unemployment rate has reached more than 50 percent and a large number of workers are unable to reach their workplaces because of the Israeli blockade.
The Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank is managing two funds worth a total of $1 billion set up by the Arab League at the initiative of Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard. Saudi Arabia has promised $250 million to the two funds. This is in addition to free medical treatment provided to wounded Palestinians at various Saudi hospitals .
According to Saad Al-Dosari, chairman of the Palestinian Evacuation Mission at King Faisal Specialist Hospital, 102 seriously injured Palestinians were evacuated last year to Saudi Arabia for treatment.
