Norway paid $10 million directly to the Palestinian Authority for the salaries of civil servants.
The transfer announced Thursday by Jonas Gahr Stoere, the Norwegian foreign minister, makes good on Norway’s pledge in March to be the first Western nation to end the isolation of the Hamas-led P.A. government. Stoere said he hoped the contribution would help “alleviate the current social crisis in the Palestinian Territory.”
Stoere has also said that the Palestinian government cannot fight extremism without more money and encouraged other countries to follow Norway’s lead. Norway expects to donate roughly $100 million this year, including direct budget support.
Western nations have stopped directly assisting the Palestinian Authority since March of last year, when Hamas, a terrorist group that rejects Israel’s existence, assumed governance. They have set up a mechanism to bypass the government and funnel money directly to Palestinians.
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