State Dept. to Review Aid to Palestinians

1 hour, 8 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - President Bush said Friday that the United States would cut aid to the Palestinian government unless Hamas abolishes the militant arm of its party and stops calling for the destruction of Israel.

"And if they don't we won't deal with them," Bush said in an interview aired on "The CBS Evening News."

"The aid packages won't go forward," the president said. "That's their decision to make, but we won't be providing help to a government that wants to destroy our ally and friend."

The U.S. views Hamas as a terrorist organization, and if it takes control of the Palestinian government, as it appears likely, all U.S. aid to the Palestinian people will be put under review, the Bush administration said.

"The law and our policies state that no money goes to terrorist organizations," Sean McCormack, a spokesman at the State Department, said earlier Friday.

This year, the U.S. government is providing $150 million in U.S. assistance for Palestinian development and other needs, McCormack said. Another $84 million is distributed through the United Nations.

"The Palestinian people have humanitarian needs, they are a poor people," he said. But McCormack also said financial aid must be reviewed and said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would take this up when she meets in London on Monday with U.N., European and Russian officials.

Together, they form the so-called Quartet that developed a roadmap or blueprint designed to steer Israel and the Palestinians into peace talks.

But that process appears in peril with Hamas' strong showing and likely control of a future Palestinian government.

The toughest task facing the United States is determining whether the peace process can proceed, and if so, how. The administration would have to find a way to negotiate with the Palestinians without talking directly to Hamas.

The militant Islamic group is sworn to destroy Israel and has conducted numerous terrorist operations against that country.

At a White House news conference Thursday, Bush said a party that seeks Israel's destruction "is a party with which we will not deal." But he also said, "Peace is never dead because people want peace."

Urging Hamas to renounce terrorism, which the late Yasser Arafat did under U.S. pressure in 1988, Bush said: "If your platform is the destruction of Israel, it means you are not a partner in peace. And we're interested in peace."

Bush himself had left open the possibility of halting aid to the Palestinians if their government winds up dominated by Hamas, a militant Islamic group listed by the State Department as a terrorist organization. This year, the Palestinians are receiving $150 million for development programs on the West Bank and in Gaza.

The threat was echoed on Capitol Hill by a nonbinding Senate resolution condemning Hamas and expressing support for halting assistance to the Palestinian government.

The symbolic resolution, crafted by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., says aid should be ended if the party controlling the Palestinian parliament advocates the destruction of Israel, which Hamas does. It was unclear when the Senate would vote on the proposal.

Congress' reluctance to continue U.S. financial support was also illustrated by lawmakers' comments, including remarks by House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.

"Hamas has shown that it prefers terrorism against innocent civilians to pursue its political aims, and the United States should play no role in assisting a majority terrorist parliament," Hastert said in a statement.

In a similar warning, Rep. Eric Cantor (news, bio, voting record), R-Va., a member of the GOP House leadership, said, "If Hamas does not join the peaceful nations of the world at the table of cooperation and peace, the consequences will be the loss of America's support and funding for the Palestinians."

Other members of Congress were also critical of Hamas' victory over the more mainstream Fatah Party. And Bush called on Abbas to remain in office.

Abbas said he was committed to reaching peace with Israel and suggested talks would be conducted through the Palestine Liberation Organization, a possible way around a Hamas-led government.

But Ziad Asali, president of the American Task Force on Palestine, a private group that favors a two-state solution, said "a cutoff would precipitate a real mess," especially if European and other governments also suspend aid.

For instance, Asali said, the salaries of some 110,000 employees of the Palestinian government come, in large part, from grants and credits. "The people depend on their salaries every month," Asali said in an interview.

"We do not need an immediate economic crisis on top of the political crisis," he said.

Source

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.