WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- The United States on Monday welcomed the European Union (EU)'s decision to offer 120 million euros (142 million U.S. dollars) to the cash-strapped Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

    "This is a welcome step," State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said at a regular news briefing.

    The aid attribution, which comes in the context of the Mideast Quartet statement, "is a sign that we're all working together to prevent a collapse of the interim Palestinian (National) Authority government and to support the Palestinian people," Ereli said.

    In the statement on Jan. 31, Ereli noted, the United States, the EU, the United Nations and Russia, the main aid contributors to the PNA, had also expressed commitment to supporting the interim government.

    EU commissioner for external relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, announced the aid plan on Monday, which is aimed to keep the Palestinian care-taker government functioning before a Hamas-led government is formed.

    The money, which is mainly for health and education, can be dispersed immediately, she said at an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels.

    The PNA, led by President Mahmoud Abbas from the long-serving Fatah faction, is desperate for funds. It reportedly had to borrow money last month to pay the salaries of public servants.

    The United States and its European allies have threatened to cut aid to the PNA if Hamas, which is to take the reins following its landslide win in the Jan. 25 legislative polls, refuses to renounce violence and recognize existence of Israel. Enditem