Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ office on Tuesday received $50 million from the Arab League, officials said, the largest amount of international aid to reach the Palestinians since the Hamas militant group won legislative elections in January.
The officials said the money had bypassed Hamas and was sent directly to Abbas, a moderate who leads the rival Fatah party. The officials declined to say how the money would be spent. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk to the media.
Western donors and Israel have cut off hundreds of millions of dollars for the Palestinians, demanding that Hamas recognize Israel and renounce violence. The loss of funding has put the Palestinian government into a financial crisis, unable to pay the salaries of its 165,000 workers since March.