JEDDAH, 3 October — The Kingdom has completed the payment of $250 million to two funds set up by the Arab League to support the Palestinian uprising against Israel. This was announced by Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ali, president of the Islamic Development Bank, here yesterday.
He said the Kingdom had recently paid its final installment of $40 million to the $1 billion pan-Arab fund set up last year.
“This means that the Kingdom has now fulfilled its commitments to the two funds set up by the Cairo Arab summit in October 2000,” Ali said. “I wish to thank the leadership and people of the Kingdom for their firm and continuous support to the Palestinian people. I also thank other countries who have been keen to support the fund.”
The Cairo summit appointed the IDB to oversee the Al-Aqsa and Intifada funds.
Saudi Arabia said it would contribute 25 percent of the total $1 billion target of the two funds to help offset the impact of the uprising on the Palestinian economy and inhabitants of the West Bank and Gaza.
Palestinians marked the first anniversary of the start of the uprising last week.
Ali gave no figures for contributions by other Arab countries, but said the two funds have so far disbursed $342 million in emergency aid.
A total of $468 million has been allocated by the bank to shore up the Palestinian Authority’s budget, to provide relief assistance and to implement development projects in the Palestinian territories.
On Saturday the PA received $45 million from the money pledged by Arab countries.
An agreement to this effect was signed by Dr. Ali and the Palestinian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mustafa Al-Sheikh Deeb, at the bank’s headquarters in Jeddah.
