WORLD CAPITALS, April 17, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – With millions of Palestinians hardly able to make ends meet, several Arab and Muslim countries offered aid to the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority while local fund-raising campaigns have been launched across the Muslim world to counter international aid freeze.

Iran announced on Monday, April 17, that it was giving $100 million in aid to the new Hamas-led Palestinian government, doubling the initial figure it announced a day earlier.

Qatar also confirmed Monday giving $50 million in aid to the PA despite calls from Washington and the EU to halt funding to the Hamas-led government.

The Gulf emirate said the aid decision "stems from Qatar's support for the Palestinian people."

A Foreign Ministry official told the state-owned news agency part of the money was Qatar's contribution to the $55 million a month pledged by Arab leaders to the PA at the Khartoum summit in March.

The new Palestinian government, which inherited not only an empty treasury but 1.7 billion dollars in debts, has been unable to pay thousands of civil servants because of aid cuts by the US and the EU.

Israel has also frozen the transfer of tax and customs receipts it collects on behalf of the PA, worth up to $50 million a month.

The Palestinian government needs $170 million a month, out of which $115 million goes to paying salaries.

Bouteflika is urged to allocate one day's oil revenues every month to the Palestinians.

Syrian Vice President Faruq Al-Shara said Sunday, April 16, that bank accounts would be opened for people to donate to the Palestinian people.

"I hope that Arab countries will not be swayed by the pretext that these funds would be used for terrorist activities," he told a joint press conference with former Iranian president Akhar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

"This aid will serve to avoid a real catastrophe in Palestine."

Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Al-Zahar left on a trip to Arab nations on Friday, April 14, hoping to drum up funding and foil Western efforts to isolate his financially stricken government.

The Itlaf Al-Kheir relief organization has urged Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to allocate one day's oil revenues every month to the Palestinian people.

"The Palestinians are in a dire need of your help. It is a duty on all of us," the organization's secretary general, Essam Yusuf, said in remarks published by Al-Bilad newspaper.

He said the organization's call is based on a poll showing that an overwhelming majority of Algerians supported the campaign.

An OPEC member, Algeria produces 1.45 million barrels per day and is projected to increase its production to two million bpd by 2010.

The North African country has confirmed oil reserves of 11.3 billion barrels of crude oil.

Itlaf Al-Kheir is comprised of some 56 Arab and Islamic affiliate organizations.

The 22-member Arab League launched last week grassroots campaigns across the Arab world to raise funds for the PA.