Indonesia will give medicine and food aid to the Palestinian government to help ease shortages caused by United States and European sanctions, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajudasaid on Friday.  Hassan made the comments after Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar met President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Zahar is in Indonesia as part of a tour of Asia aimed at raising money for the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority, Zahar's office said before he departed.

"The president made a promise as part of our continuous support to the struggle of the Palestinian nation to provide aid to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the form of food and drugs," Wirajuda said.  He did not say whether the government in the world's most populous Muslim nation would provide any cash to the authority. Earlier Friday a group of Islamic politicians and activists handed Zahar US$251,000 (euro195,795) in cash to make up for theshortfall in the authority's budget. The money was raised during a series of recent street rallies.  Israel, the U.S. and European Union have cut off much of the funding to the Palestinian Authority since Islamic militant group Hamas won parliamentary elections in January, calling it a terror organization. Hamas has so far refused to renounce violence, recognize Israel's right to exist or accept past peace agreements. Indonesia has long supported Palestinian independence efforts and is considering opening a diplomatic mission in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Source: The Jakarta Post