Prominent religious leaders from a number of Islamic countries issued a fatwa, or edict, demanding Muslims to donate money to the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority, Desert News reported.

Influential clerics like Egyptian sheikh Yussuf al-Qaradawi, Saudi cleric Salman al-Odeh and Sheik Harith al-Dhari, head of Iraq's Sunni Islamic Scholars Association, met with leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in closed-door sessions in Qatar over the past two days to examine ways to ease the financial crisis of the Palestinian Authority.

"This meeting has reverted the Palestinian issue to its rightful depth as an Arab, and Islamic, issue," said Izat Reshq, a member of Hamas' politburo. "We in Hamas always said this is not just an internal Palestinian issue, it is an Arab and Muslim one."

The United States and the European Union, who classify Hamas as a terrorist group, cut off direct aid to the Palestinian government after Hamas came to power in March. Israel too imposed tough financial sanctions on the Hamas government, making the Palestinian Authority unable to pay civil servants' salaries for March and April.

The Palestinian Authority has also been unable to receive funds from the Arab League because banks fear that the U.S. will punish them for doing business with Hamas.

The World Bank and United Nations have warned that the failure to pay the civil servants could lead to a humanitarian and security crisis.

At the Qatar meeting, the clerics devised an action plan to support the Palestinians and issued an edict calling on all Muslims to donate money and ease the financial crisis in areas under Palestinian security or administrative control.

"God instructed the men of religion to stand up for justice and keep the Muslim nation aware," said Professor Ahmad Ali al-Iman, a Sudanese cleric who attended the sessions.

"Palestine is a religious issue, not just a political one, and affects all Muslims. So we want the Muslim nation to stand as one with the Palestinians," he added.

The meeting took place as Muslim and social groups throughout the Arab world started collecting millions in support of the Palestinians. Islamic governments also pledged support, with Iran pledging $50 million to the Palestinian Authority, and Qatar and Saudi Arabia promising to donate $50 million and $90 million respectively.

However, it wasn't immediately clear how Muslim funds could reach the Palestinians as the U.S. continues to pressure Arab banks not to transfer the money to the Palestinian Authority.

The Islamic clerics at the Qatar sessions threatened to boycott banks that refuse to transfer donations earmarked for the Palestinians.