World Bank pays $22.3 million to PA budget

The World Bank on Tuesday said it paid $22.3 million to the Palestinian Authority to help with a budget crisis. The funds are from a trust paid into by the governments of Australia, France, Kuwait, Norway, and the UK, the World Bank said in a statement. It noted that the aid was slated to support education, health care and other social services and for the economic reforms undertaken by the West Bank government. The Palestinian Authority labor minister said Saturday that due to the government's worsening financial crisis, public sector salaries would not be paid on time in July. Israeli and Palestinian officials told Reuters on Monday that Israel had sought a $1 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund for the Palestinian Authority to prevent its financial collapse. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz said the IMF turned down the request because it did not want to set a precedent of one state getting a loan on behalf of a non-state body.