JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Dec 24 (AFP) - The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) signed agreements Monday to provide the Palestinian Authority with 24 million dollars in grants and loans for essential services, a statement said.
Ten million dollars were provided as grants, including eight million from the Jerusalem Intifadah Fund, which was set up along with the Al-Aqsa Fund by Arab states in 2000 to back the Palestinian uprising.
The remaining 14 million dollars are soft loans for up to 25 years with five-year grace periods, the IDB statement added.
The aid was for development projects, the health ministry and electricity and water projects, as well as Palestinian industry and exports.
The IDB said that so far, 444 million dollars have been paid to the Palestinian Authority by the two Funds.
Arab states pledged a total of one billion dollars to the two funds during their October summit last year, but the sums committed so far have reached 693 million dollars.
The Jerusalem Intifada Fund was to support the families of Palestinians killed or wounded during the uprising against Israel that began in September 2000, and the Al-Aqsa Fund to "preserve the Islamic character of East Jerusalem" and support the Palestinian economy.
Both funds were entrusted to the Jeddah-based IDB after some donors baulked at transferring the money directly to the Authority, citing a lack of transparency in its management of public funds.
oh/bp AFP
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