Norwegian FM calls to increase financial aid to Palestinians

Donor countries have begun consultations on the issue of finding additional funds to help build institutions of a future Palestinian state, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said on Jan.12, Italian AKI news agency reported.

Statement by the Norwegian Foreign Minister was made after the meeting of the participating- countries of the Paris conference on aid to the Palestinians in Brussels, which was attended by EU, France and Spain's foreign ministers, as well as special envoy of the EU in the Middle East, Tony Blair and his U.S. counterpart George Mitchell.

Stoere called upon Arab countries to take part in increasing the financial assistance for the establishment of a Palestinian state, and encourage investment in the economy of autonomy that would lead to stabilization of the situation in the region.

"Today we want to emphasize the need for coordination of economic and financial efforts, along with political efforts to achieve a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through talks leading to the establishment of two states," he said.

Earlier Mitchell, who again failed to persuade the Palestinian Authority and Israel of resuming peace talks, also appealed to European countries and other potential sponsors to assist in financing establishment of autonomous institutions of the future state.

The stumbling block is Palestinian Authority leader's requirement to freeze building Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem before the talks are resumed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his turn said he does not agree with the division of Jerusalem, the eastern part of which Palestinians claim as capital of their future state.