Why has Gulf aid to PA declined in recent years?
Official Palestinian data showed that Saudi support for the Palestinian 2020 budget drastically declined, raising many questions about the future of the Palestinian Authority on the economic and financial levels.
The Palestinian Ministry of Finance released March 3 official data relating to the 2020 budget.
The data revealed that Saudi and Arab financial aid sharply declined, with the total Arab aid and grants amounting to $40 million, an 84.9% decrease in comparison with $265.5 million in 2019.
According to the figures, oil-producing countries are the main Arab financiers of the Palestinian budget. The Saudi support declined from $174.7 million in 2019 to $32.5 million in 2020, a decrease of 81.4%. As for the rest of the Arab support, it was divided between Qatar and Oman, with $6.51 million and $1.06 million, respectively.
After the Palestinian Authority (PA) was established in 1994, the international community pledged to provide financial support that amounted to $35.4 billion until late 2017. The European Union was one of the largest donors during this period, with aid amounting to $6.7 billion — i.e., 18.4% — of the total aid provided to the PA, followed by the United States with $5.74 billion, or 15.7%, of the total grants. Saudi Arabia followed with $3.83 billion, or 10.5%. These figures were released by the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction (PECDAR) in February 2019. Most of this aid is earmarked for the Palestinian state budget and used to pay the wages of PA employees, ensure the continuity of the PA, and prevent the collapse of the Palestinian economic and financial situations.
