US suspends pledged financial aid for Palestinian authority

The United States has suspended aid funds for the Palestinian Authority as a punishment for its bids to attain representation at the United Nations, according to a senior official. PA Minister of External Affairs Dr. Riad Al-Maliki said in a statement to "Voice of Palestine" radio station, broadcast on Saturday, Washington pledged to pay the authority USD 200 million, months ago, but it later decided to abstain from giving the sum as a pressure on the Palestinian leadership. "Suspension of this fund was in response to the Palestinian leadership's decision to seek representation at the United Nations General Assembly as "a non-member state," he added. He was reacting to remarks, made by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, two days ago, saying the US Administration was seeking to transfer USD 200 million to the PA to help the authority cope with financial difficulties. The West Bank witnessed, last week. public protests against drastic hike of prices of necessities and basic commodities. And, the PA failed to pay salaries and wages for 153 civil servants, due to severe shortages of financial resources. Al-Maliki confirmed that the European Commission pledged to transfer USD 100 million to the PA for the same purpose.