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Israel urges more

economic aid for

Palestinians

BRUSSELS: Israel urged the international community on Friday to boost its economic aid for Palestinians, pledging to facilitates the transit of goods into the autonomous territories.

Uri Savir, the Israel foreign ministry director-general said here that Israel would take steps to "facilitate the circulation of goods destined for Gaza and the West Bank".

After a meeting in Brussels of the liaison committee on economic aid to the Palestinians, Savir said 550 lorries loaded with merchandise entered the Gaza Strip each day. He added: "Our goal is to rapidly attain the figure of 750" - the level of the traffic before the territories were sealed off in reprisal for a wave of bomb attacks in Israel.

"We called on donor countries to step up their support for the Palestinians who are suffering from the difficult situation provoked by Hamas" - the militant Islamic group which has vowed to destroy the peace process.

Savir said that out of $500 million promised for the Palestinians at a conference in Paris in January, only 27 million had materialised so far.

The European Union has pledged 90 million ECUs (about 120 million dollars) for 1996, a spokesman for the European Commission said on Friday.

The United States has promised 100 million dollars.

The EU spokesman said 15 million ECUs (20 million dollars) would be released by mid-May to help the Palestinian Authority to reduce its budget deficit.

Foreign aid for 1996 was destined primarily to create 25,000 new jobs in the self-rule areas, donors here said.

The conclusions of the Brussels meeting will be submitted on April 22 to ministers from countries who took part in the Sharm el-Sheikh anti-terrorism summit in Egypt on March 13 which was boycotted by both Syria and Lebanon.

The liaison committee on aid to the Palestinians is due to meet again in June.-AFP