The UN special envoy to the Middle East warned today that without urgent economic aid, the Palestinian Authority might soon collapse, leading to chaos and anarchy in the Palestinian areas.
In our opinion, there is a situation developing where there is first a fiscal collapse, then an institutional collapse of the Palestinian Authority, which will lead to further violence and a situation which might get completely out of control, envoy Terje Roed-Larsen said.
Speaking to reporters after briefing U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Mr Roed-Larsen spoke of the possibility of violence on a massive scale.
"The Secretary-General is very concerned and has instructed me to go to key European capitals and Washington to discuss the situation", he said, adding he would be in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"The Palestinian Authority was fast running out of funds and would be unable to pay its salaries within a few weeks.
"It would need about $50 million a month in international aid, beginning this month, to keep it afloat until the area was reopened and the local economy is allowed to start recovering, Mr Roed-Larsen said.
The U.N. special envoy said he had already spoken to European Union officials, Ehud Barak and Ariel Sharon, to impress on them how acute the situation is.