CAIRO, 13 November 2006 — Arab states vowed yesterday to ignore the aid freeze imposed on the Palestinian Authority and start stepping up payments. “We are determined to find means of getting aid directly to the Palestinian people,” Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad ibn Jassem ibn Jabr Al-Thani told reporters after a meeting of foreign ministers of the member states of the Arab League here.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Al-Zahar welcomed the decision as “extremely important,” arguing it could pave the way for the formation of a national unity government and a lifting of the international boycott of Palestinians. “It means that Arabs will revert to using the usual means to transfer aid,” he told reporters.
Western donors cut financial aid to the Palestinian Authority after Hamas took office in March, demanding the movement renounce violence and recognize Israel’s right to exist.
Zahar also accepted an Arab proposal at the meeting for a peace conference to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Arab diplomats said. The ministers said in a communiqué that permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, Israel and Arab parties would be invited to attend the peace conference.
In Gaza, the feuding Palestinian factions selected academic Mohammed Shbeir to head a national unity government, Hamas and Fatah sources said. Shbeir, a former head of Gaza’s Islamic University, was chosen after intensive talks between President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
