The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Saturday welcomed the U.S. administration's decision to release 147 million U.S. dollars of aid to the Palestinians frozen by the Congress.

"This decision comes in the positive direction," said Nemer Hamad, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, voicing hope that the aid would help revive the deficit-racked Palestinian budget.

"Withholding the Palestinian aid doesn't help create atmosphere suitable to the peace process," Hamad added, urging Arab states and Western donors to "meet their commitments that would enable the PNA to perform its tasks."

Meanwhile, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Al-Maliki said the decision taken by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton " corrects a mistake and reflects a positive indication from the U.S. administration toward the Palestinian cause."

He called for "the Palestinian mechanisms to boost dialogue with Washington to get as much U.S. support as possible."

Earlier this week, a U.S. State Department official said that Clinton informed members of the Congress in a letter about her decision to present the package of aid to the Palestinians. The money was withheld by U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

The unfrozen aid will go to the PNA to fund projects by NGOs in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

On Wednesday, the Middle East Quartet, comprising the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, called for increasing financial contributions to the PNA.

The PNA faces a shortfall of more than 1 billion U.S. dollars in its budget.