KUWAIT CITY, March 25: Oil-rich Gulf Arab states, including Kuwait, have pledged to continue aid to the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority once Hamas take power, an official from the radical movement said on Saturday.

“We have obtained a pledge from Gulf states that they will continue their financial aid to the Palestinian government,” under Hamas, Mohammed Nazzal said.

“The issue will be discussed and formalised at the Arab summit meeting,” due to be held in Sudan on Tuesday, Mr Nazzal said.

Mr Nazzal is a member of a Hamas delegation, headed by its political chief Khaled Meshaal, currently in Kuwait as part of a tour of Arab countries to garner support in the face of US-led Western threat to cut aid to Palestinians.

The delegation held talks with Amir Sheikh Sabah al Ahmad al Sabah and other top Kuwaiti leaders, including parliament speaker Jassem al Khorafi.

“Kuwait has assured us that it will comply with resolutions taken at the Arab summit regarding financial aid to the Palestinians,” Mr Nazzal said.

“They have assured us of their total backing of the Palestinian cause and the new Palestinian government,” he said.

Mr Khorafi told reporters that Meshaal was in Kuwait as a representative for the soon-to-be new Palestinian government and not for Hamas.

“We have repeatedly said that Kuwait will continue its support to the Palestinian people ... especially in humanitarian aspects,” Khorafi said after a meeting with Mr Meshaal.

But no details on the nature of this support were given except that Nazzal said Hamas was not asking Gulf states to give more money but keep their current aid level constant.

A Palestinian delegation headed by the outgoing government made an urgent appeal during summit preparatory meetings in Khartoum for 100 million dollars a month from Arab states to plug a gapping deficit. It said that Arab states have not fulfilled a pledge made at the last annual summit in Algeria to provide the Palestinian government with 55 million dollars a month.

But Mr Nazzal said the Hamas tour in the region did not focus only on financial aid, but tackled “all forms of support” in the face of US-led efforts to isolate the Hamas-led government.

Mr Meshaal has urged Arab states to translate their support into more concrete figures when they meet in Khartoum.

The Hamas team has already visited Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Libya where it was assured of support to counter US-led moves to cut aid to the Palestinian government following Hamas’s upset election victory in January.

Saudi Arabia has vowed to carry on its financial support for the Palestinians.

Libyan leader Moamer Qadhafi on Thursday assured Mr Meshaal of his support for the Palestinian people and his respect for their political choice. —AFP