PNA welcomes US resumption of financial aid

The Palestinian National Authority on Saturday welcomed the United States' decision to resume its aid to the Palestinians, saying the move will end the financial "siege" they have been suffering.Ahmed Majdalani, a Palestinian senior official, said the unlocked aid, some 500 U.S. million dollars, reflected that the United States had turned the page of the past in its policy toward the Palestinians.The US state department announced Friday that two years of assistance to the Palestinians, 295.7 million U.S. dollars for 2012 and 200 million for 2013, were released after being put on hold in November 2012.The US Congress froze the money in response to the Palestinians' successful upgrade of their status at the UN General Assembly to that of a non-member observer state.The decision came after U.S. President Barack Obama paid a three-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, where he tried to revive the stalled peace talks between the two sides.Majdalani said the unfrozen U.S. aid will encourage other countries to resume their financial assistance, which the donor states halted in avoidance to annoy the United States.The Palestinian National Authority has been suffering a severe financial crisis that has affected the its payment of the public servants' salaries.