PA Finance Minister Quits in Frustration

Palestinian Authority Finance Minister Nabil Qassis announced on Sunday he is quitting his post as the bloated budget grows and labor unions and politicians refuse austerity measures.

His resignation marks the continuing decline of the Palestinian Authority economy, which has been a de facto welfare state for years and whose economy has been so weak that the World Bank said last year it would be difficult for the PA to maintain itself as a country if it becomes independent.

The Arab world has filed to live up to pledges of billons of dollars in aid, and the European Union  is hard-pressed to continue to bail it out in the wake of struggling economies back home.

Israel last week said it would resume transferring to the Palestinian Authority tax revenues collected in order to prevent a rise in tensions on the Arab street.

The World bank noted last year that the budget deficit, lack of commitment from Arab donors,  “few positive prospects in the broader political environment and t eh slit between Hamas and the rival Fatah faction headed by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas all combine to raise questions about the viability of a PA state.