RAMALLAH, West Bank, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Nabil Elaraby, secretary-general of the Arab League, made his first visit to the Palestinian Authority capital Saturday and met with President Mahmoud Abbas.
Elaraby, the first Arab League secretary-general to go to Ramallah, was accompanied by Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Four other foreign ministers backed out of the trip, the newspaper said.
Wasel Abu Yousef of the Palestinian Liberation Organization accused the United States of pressuring those ministers to stay away from Ramallah.
"The U.S. and Israel are imposing an economic blockade on the Palestinian State and are preventing the Arab countries and Western donors from providing Palestinians with financial aid," Abu Yousef said. "Unfortunately, these countries have succumbed to the pressure, further intensifying the financial crisis in the Palestinian Authority."
Elaraby said after meeting with Abbas that Arab countries have failed to follow through on promises to provide the Palestinians with $100 million a month in aid.
