France grants €10M aid to PA budget

France announced Sunday the forthcoming disbursement of 10 million euro aid to the Palestinian Authority’s budget and called for the lifting of Israeli restrictions on Area C and Gaza, said a statement by French Ministry of Foreign Affairs Monday. The announcement came as part of the ad hoc Liaison Committee meeting in New York, which involves major donors to PA. This amount is the second part of the French budgetary aid to PA for the year 2012, after the 10 million aid announced by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs to President Mahmoud Abbas during his visit to Paris last June. France joined the observation made during this meeting by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the United Nations, which explains that PA stands ready to establish a well-functioning State, despite the current financial difficulties France, which remains committed to the Palestinians in support to the building of the institutions of their future state, also joined the calls made by the committee: an urgent remobilization of failing donors, especially the United States of America and some Gulf countries, is more necessary than ever, as well as a decisive action from the Israeli authorities to lift the restrictions on the sustainable economic development in the Palestinian Territory, especially in area C and Gaza.