GAZA, April 24 (UPI) -- Palestinian Planning Minister Samir Abu Aisha said Hamas has prepared an emergency aid plan to prevent the Palestinian Authority from going bankrupt.
Speaking to journalists in Gaza on Monday, Abu Aisha said the overall plan, including public servant salaries and development projects, will cost $1.95 billion over a period of nine months.
He said that he briefed Arab finance ministers at a recent meeting in Morocco of the plan, during which they reviewed the difficult economic situation prevailing in the Palestinian territories.
"We informed them of our immediate needs and presented the draft project for emergency assistance which we are preparing, and of which we distributed copies," Abu Aisha said.
Under the terms of an agreement signed in Morocco, the Islamic Bank will finance the construction and restoration of schools in the West Bank and Gaza at the cost of $14.4 million.
Abu Aisha pointed out that five Arab financial institutions, including the Kuwait-based Arab Fund for Economic Development, the Arab Monetary Fund in Abu Dhabi, and the Arab Bank for Development in Africa, have decided to allocate more than $60 million to finance development and educational projects in the Palestinian territories.
Many ministers have been touring potential donor countries to garner political and financial support to alleviate the financial crisis faced by the Hamas government following a U.S.-EU aid embargo.
Meanwhile, a 19-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli army fire near Bureij camp in central Gaza Monday.
Palestinian sources said Israeli gunners opened fire on Gaza after militants fired locally-made rockets at the Israeli town of Sederot.
