News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Donor countries have pledged to donate $7.4 billion to the Palestinian Authority, $1.8 billion more than the PA requested.  PA officials said that most of the money would be used to run the PA, while approximately 30 percent would be used for development projects.

The United States pledged $555 million, while Britain, Germany, and France pledged a total of $1.08 billion.  The European Union pledged $650 million for 2008.  The EU gave $1.45 billion to the PA and aid groups in PA-controlled territories in 2007 after pledging $245 million the year before.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas spoke at the conference on Monday and called on Israel to remove checkpoints in Judea and Samaria and freeze all Jewish growth in the area.  In addition to removing security checkpoints, Abbas said, Israel must stop building a wall in Judea and Samaria.  The World Bank supported Abbas, saying that Israel must remove security checkpoints or be held responsible for the failure of the PA economy.