Arab FMs to meet Sunday to discuss Palestine issue

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Arab foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting on Sunday at the Arab League’s Cairo headquarters to discuss the Palestine file.

Ahmed Qabha, a Palestinian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Sunday’s meeting, which comes at Palestine’s request, would seek to activate an Arab League-sponsored “financial safety net” for the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority (PA).

In remarks to Anadolu Agency, Qabha said that the meeting would likely be attended by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki.

At a 2010 summit, Arab League member-states proposed the idea of a “financial safety net” to help the Palestinian leadership cope with repeated delays by Tel Aviv in handing over tax revenues that Israel collects on behalf of the PA.

Earlier this year, Israel began deducting funds from these taxes, claiming they were being used by Ramallah to pay monthly stipends out to the families of Palestinians involved in attacks on Israelis.

Israel collects roughly $175 million in monthly taxes on Palestinian imports and exports on behalf of the PA, for which tax revenue represents a main source of income.

Ali H. M.Abo Rezeg