The United States announced yesterday that it will be providing $148 million in aid to support the Palestinian Authority’s budget, which is experiencing a fiscal deficit worth $3.1 billion this year.
After the aid agreement was signed at the office of the Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Al-Hamdallah in Ramallah, the US Consul General in Jerusalem, Michael Ratney, said that the aid shows how the US is committed to supporting Palestine: “These funds are a testament to the commitment of the United States’ support for the Palestinian economy and the Palestinian people,” he said.
Since 1994, the US has provided a total of $4.3 billion in aid to the Palestinians. However, it froze its aid to the Palestinian Authority after Palestine obtained a non-member observer state status in the United Nations in 2012.
“Atid” electoral program states that Jerusalem should remain “united under Israeli sovereignty. Jerusalem is not just a place or a city. It is a symbol of the Israeli Jewish people. It is the holy place Jews have aspired to over generations”.
Report By Reuters