GAZA, May 16 (UPI) -- Palestinian charity groups addressed a joint plea to international organizations and Arab and Muslim countries to help lift Israel's economic siege.
At a joint press conference in Gaza Tuesday the 22 groups announced a fund raising campaign to be launched Friday to collect much-needed money following Israel's decision to stop remitting custom revenues to the Palestine Authority in after Hamas' electoral victory.
Speaking on behalf of all groups, the president of the Humanitarian Salah organization, the biggest of Muslim charities, Ahmed Kurd said "Today, we are facing a difficult phase which impose on us to deploy all our means, energy and capacities more than ever before to break the siege."
"We call on Arab and Muslim governments and peoples to assume their historic responsibilities regarding the Palestinian people who is still bleeding to fulfill its rights," Kurd said.
"We also address ourselves to the Arab and Islamic communities all over the world to keep up their support by organizing more campaigns to rescue and help the Palestinian people," he added.
He said the charity groups decided to launch on Friday the "campaign of support and lifting the siege" to collect funds for the neediest Palestinians at Palestine Square in central Gaza City.
The Palestinian territories have been reeling under severe financial and economic crisis since the U.S. and European Union suspended direct financing to the Palestinian Authority in retaliation to the Hamas-led Palestinian government.
In another development, the Israeli army said a Katyusha rocket was fired at the town of Natif Haasarat near Israel's border with Gaza Tuesday.
Military sources said there were no casualties from the rocket which was fired from inside Gaza. It was the third time that this type of Katyusha rockets which has a 24 kilometers (15 miles) range was fired at Israel.
