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RAMALLAH, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia has suspended its funding for the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) since March, a senior Palestinian official said Tuesday.
"Last money transfer sent to the PNA treasury was in March," said Rami Hamdallah, prime minister of the PNA consensus government, when meeting with a group of Palestinian journalists. "The Saudi fund has temporarily stopped."
Hamdallah, however, denied earlier reports from the Arab media that Saudi Arabia has completely stopped its financial aid to the PNA due to political differences.
"There are reassurances that Saudi Arabia will soon resume its financial commitments to the PNA, including the previous months since March," said Hamdallah. "There are no political implications as was said earlier."
The prime minister praised Saudi Arabia for its constant political and financial support for the Palestinian people and their just cause over the decades.
Saudi Arabia's share of Arab financial commitment to the PNA is 20 million U.S. dollars per month.
Hamdallah admitted that foreign financial aid to the PNA has declined recently, including the United States, which has provided no financial aid in 2016.
The U.S. should have provided 386 million dollars in financial aid so far, according to the prime minister.
