EU to fund Palestinian Authority

EU: The European Union will seek ways to fund the Palestinian Authority when EU foreign ministers meet on Monday, to prevent…

EU: The European Union will seek ways to fund the Palestinian Authority when EU foreign ministers meet on Monday, to prevent its financial collapse now Israel is withholding tax revenue, EU officials said yesterday.

"It is not in our interest to see the Palestinian Authority break down," a senior EU diplomat said.

The EU, the authority's largest donor, cannot deal directly with Hamas, which won the recent Palestinian elections, because it has placed the group on its list of banned terrorist organisations.

Israeli soldiers shot dead two Palestinian militants in Gaza yesterday, drawing vows of revenge from members and supporters of the Hamas. One of the dead was the son of a newly elected Hamas representative.