US appeals for Palestinian tax funds

The United States has again urged Israel to release millions of dollars in taxes due to the Palestinian Authority.

The new call came a day after a similar appeal by the United Nations representative to the Authority, Terje Roed-Larsen.

Mr Roed-Larsen said the authority was on the verge of collapse because it was running out of money to pay civil servants and its security forces.

He met American officials in Washington to press the UN case for urgent steps to resolve the problem.

Afterwards, the State Department spokesman, Richard Boucher, said that the economic pressure on the Palestinians needed to be relieved. Earlier, the Authority said it was in dire financial straits.

The Economy Minister, Maher al-Masri, said the authority ws increasingly dependent on foreign donors to help pay civil servants' salaries. The Israelis say they will not release the funds until violence stops in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service