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Saudi Arabia's envoy to the Arab League, Ahmed Kattan, said on Thursday that Riyadh would increase the amount of aid it provides to the Al-Aqsa and Al-Quds funds by $500 million.

The addition to Saudi Arabia's share of the financial aid to these funds will therefore increase by $70 million and will be transferred in four installments of $17.5 million each.

A statement issued by the Saudi mission to the Arab League said Riyadh will also increase its support for the Palestinian Authority (PA) budget from $7.7 million a month to $20 million a month.

In December 2017 and January 2018, Saudi Arabia transferred $40 million to the PA’s Ministry of Finance, according to the official PA news agency Wafa.

The PA has repeatedly asked for foreign donations in recent years, claiming it is on the verge of collapse due to a worsening financial crisis.

But, while blaming Israel for the PA’s financial woes, its chairman Mahmoud Abbas continues to spend six percent of the PA’s annual budget to pay $4.5 million a month to jailed terrorists and another $6.5 million to their families.