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Ramallah, West Bank: A new PLO account set up to bypass an international boycott of Hamas has begun disbursing tens of millions of dollars in foreign aid and is a key step toward restoring relations between the Palestinians and donor countries, the Palestinian finance minister said in an interview yesterday.
However, the end of the boycott, imposed when Hamas rose to power more than a year ago, is not yet in sight, the minister, Salam Fayed, said.
While Arab countries and Norway have already paid a total of $184 million (about Dh675 million) into the new fund, the two biggest donors to the Palestinians - the US and European Union - have not committed to it, he said.
In mid-May, Fayed established a new channel for foreign aid - an account in the Palestine Liberation Organisation, the Palestinians' political umbrella organisation of which Hamas is not a member.
Donor countries can now send money to this account, without concern that banks involved in the transfer would run afoul of US anti-terror regulations, Fayed said.
He said the US has sent a letter to the European Union with such assurances.
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