MIDDLE EAST:Palestinians are facing soaring personal debts and three-quarters have nothing left to sell to meet personal needs, aid agency Oxfam said yesterday, urging donors to resume funding.
In April 2006 the EU, US, UN and Russia suspended direct aid to the Palestinian Authority after Hamas won parliamentary elections. According to Oxfam, this has cut the authority's income by two-thirds.
Taking that money out of the system has left more than half of all Palestinian families falling increasingly into debt, with one family in 15 owing more than $25,000 (€18,727), in a society where the average salary is less than $3,500 (€2,622) a year, according to Oxfam. - (Reuters)