Palestinian Authority to turn lavish presidential palace into a national library

An opulent Palestinian presidential palace near the city of Ramallah will be transformed into a national library, officials said on Monday.

Plans for the $17.5 million palace were announced in 2015 just months after the Palestinian Authority passed an emergency budget due to a shortfall in international aid, leading to widespread criticism.

The original design for the presidential palace included two helipads, guest quarters and offices on over six acres of land.

"The president believes the palace should be used for public benefit by turning it into a huge national library supervised by a board of trustees," said Mohammed Shtayyeh, head of the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction (PECDAR).

It is unclear how long it will take to create the library, which will be paid for by the Palestinian finance ministry and PECDAR, an institution that handles donor funds. 

But the decision has caused controversy with around 17.8 percent of Palestinians in the West Bank living in poverty, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). The average GDP per capita in the occupied territory is around $1,900.

The Palestinian Authority allocates around 28 percent of its budget to the security sector.