Palestine spent $7 billion over five years

The Palestinian assistant undersecretary of the International Cooperation and Planning Ministry, Ali Shaath, criticized the non-Palestinian banks for investing the major part of their funds abroad.

He said the banks working in Palestine have savings valued at $2.3 billion, 70% of which is invested outside Palestine.

He called for developing a banking and financial policy that will help attract investments to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Shaath said the Palestinian government has spent $7 billion during the last five years, including $2 billion from the donor countries and the remaining amount from the Palestinian income. He called for the establishment of a mechanism for the proper use of developmental resources.

He also confirmed the importance of the Palestinian immigrants' investments in the success of the development plan in Palestine, where he evaluated investments in Latin America at only $47 billion.