French President Jacques Chirac has called for European funding to the Palestinian Authority to be resumed with a new money transfer system through the World Bank.

Palestinian leaders have welcomed the move but warned against the risk of creating a “parallel cabinet.”

After receiving Mahmoud Abbas on Friday, French President Jacques Chirac called for the creation of a new money transfer mechanism through the World Bank. Chirac’s proposal would enable the resumption of European financial support to the Palestinians while avoiding official contact with the Hamas government.

“The financial aid to Palestinians has to be maintained for human and political reasons,” Jacques Chirac told the press. The Elysee Palace later announced that the French president would back the idea of a new fund, managed by the World Bank, which would provide salaries for 160,000 civil servants, which include the members of the armed forces. Chirac is to recommend the initiative when meeting with members of the Quartet on 9 May.

Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the initiative but considered that "the mechanism had to be set up quickly and not in a matter of months considering the situation in the Palestinian territories."

The Hamas government said “it has no problem with the creation of this new fund” but that “the payment of salaries has to be done in coordination with the government. We do not want the creation of a parallel cabinet,” said government spokesman Ghazi Hamad.
Mahmoud Abbas also rejected the idea of a parallel cabinet.

Regarding the conflict between the Palestinian president and Hamas over the new armed forces created by the government, Abbas said “there is a misunderstanding over this issue. There is no new force but certain existing armed elements have been integrated into the existing forces.”