CAIRO, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Tuesday allowed Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar to carry 20 million U.S. dollars while passing through the Rafah border crossing into the Gaza Strip, the official MENA news agency reported.

    Al-Zahar was allowed to cross the terminal after he agreed to declare the sum in his tax statement, well-informed sources said, adding that he passed the crossing after his visits to Egypt and some Arab and Islamic countries.

    Al-Zahar visited Egypt on Nov. 11 after participating in an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers, aimed at discussing means of lifting months-old siege and halting Israeli offensive.

    The Egyptian move was to help the Palestinians amid the deteriorating situation in the Palestinian territories, the sources added.

    The Rafah crossing on the Palestinian-Egyptian border is the only terminal that is not under Israel's control.

    The Hamas-led Palestinian government has faced political and economic sanctions since it took office in March, as Hamas rejects three conditions of recognizing Israel, renouncing violence and honoring previous agreements signed with Israel.

    The sanctions have bankrupted the government, making it incapable of paying salaries to its some 165,000 employees. Earlier this month, Arab foreign ministers vowed to ignore financial sanction on the Palestinian National Authority and start to beef up funding. A number of Palestinian officials have returned home with Arab aid in multi-million-dollar cash.