President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday appealed for Arab financial support to help the Palestinians deal with “pressures and threats” from Israel and its allies which he said were a risk to his plan to seek U.N. approval for statehood in September.
The Palestinian Authority faces a financial crisis which forced it to cut wages by half in July. Policymakers have identified a shortfall in Arab aid as the main cause. The crisis has highlighted the financial fragility of the aid-dependent Palestinian Authority as Abbas embarks on a diplomatic offensive opposed by the US, another of the Palestinians’ main donors and also Israel’s main backer.