Palestine Has Enough Support From Allies To End Financial Dependence On US - Official

Palestine enjoys considerable support from its allies that is enough to get rid of financial dependence on the United States, Palestinian presidential adviser Nabil Shaath said on Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st February, 2019) Palestine enjoys considerable support from its allies that is enough to get rid of financial dependence on the United States, Palestinian presidential adviser Nabil Shaath said on Thursday.

"We need to work on this issue, we need to do everything to put an end to our dependence on the United Sates in all the areas, including financial aid. I think we can do this working with our friends and allies, both Arabs and not Arabs," Shaath said at a round table discussion on the status of Jerusalem at the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency's Press Center in Moscow.

Washington has recently taken a number of hostile steps toward Palestine.

Washington said it would stop contributing to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). In September, the United States decided to close the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) office in Washington over Palestinian efforts to encourage the International Criminal Court to open a probe into Israel's alleged war crimes, as well as their alleged failure to support the US government's peace efforts.

Shaath added that Arab countries contributed $160 million to compensate the withdrawal of US financing of UNRWA, while $35 million came from Japan and $80 million from other countries, including France and Belgium.