Rice Rules Out Aid to Hamas Government

Sun Jan 29, 6:00 PM ET

LONDON - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday ruled out any American financial aid to a Hamas government in the Palestinian territories and said Washington wants Arab nations and others to cut off money as well.

Humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, many of whom are poor and unemployed, is likely on a "case-by-case basis," Rice said. She indicated that the Bush administration would follow through on aid promised to the current, U.S.-backed Palestinian government led by President Mahmoud Abbas.

"The United States is not prepared to fund an organization that advocates the destruction of Israel, that advocates violence and that refuses its obligations," under an international framework for eventual Mideast peace, Rice said.

Hamas, or the Islamic Resistance Movement, won a decisive majority in last week's Palestinian legislative elections. The group, which has political and militant wings, will now take a large role in governing the Palestinians. The makeup of the new government is not clear.

The Islamic militants, who carried out dozens of suicide bombings and seek Israel's destruction, have said they oppose peace talks and will not disarm. Israel refuses to deal with Hamas.

Hamas' unexpected electoral victory raised questions about the future of the peace process between the Palestinians and Israel, and how the United States can influence such efforts or help impoverished Palestinians.

"We're going to review all of our assistance programs, but the bedrock principle here is we can't have funding for an organization that holds those views just because it is in government," Rice said.

The top U.S. diplomat spoke to reporters as she flew to London for a Mideast strategy session with European and Russian leaders and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Rice also will meet separately with other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to discuss Iran and an upcoming vote on whether to refer the Tehran government to the council over its nuclear program.

Rice was more definitive than President Bush and other administration officials have been about the future of U.S. aid now that Palestinians have voted in Hamas.

The U.S., Europe and Israel list Hamas as a terrorist organization; various Arab governments have contact with the group.

"It is important that Hamas now will have to confront the implications of its covenant if it wishes to govern," Rice said. "That becomes a primary consideration in anything that we do."

It is not clear that all European nations or the United Nations would cut off aid, let alone Arab governments that do not recognize Israel.

"I just think that anyone who is devoted to trying to bring Middle East peace between two states has an obligation now to make sure that anybody that is going to be supported is going to have that same" goal, Rice said.

Some in Israel and in the administration would like to isolate and impoverish the new Hamas leadership in hopes of either forcing the group to moderate its policies or hastening disillusionment with the incoming government among Palestinians.

U.S. aid is a small part of the $1.6 billion annual budget of the Palestinian Authority.

About $1 billion comes from overseas donors - more than half of that from European nations. The rest is a mix of funds from international donor agencies, Arab and Asian governments, and the U.S., which gave $70 million in direct aid to the Palestinian Authority last year.

Separately, the U.S. spent $225 million for humanitarian projects through the U.S. Agency for International Development last year, and gave $88 million for refugee assistance.

In the past, USAID money has gone for such projects as sprucing up the Ramallah auditorium where Palestinian leaders hold press conferences.

Rice suggested that only the most pressing needs would be considered now.

Earlier Sunday, with Hamas' victory discussed on the U.S. talk shows, a Republican senator said cutting U.S. aid to the Hamas-run government could push the Palestinians closer to Iran and create further chaos in the Middle East.

Yet governing changes in the region could allow diplomatic efforts by the Bush administration to move "in some quiet ways," said Sen. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record), a top member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"I think we're moving in the right direction, working with our allies, working with the United Nations, finding ways, with Hamas, to see where they're going to go here in the next few weeks, to see if there's something that we could do to influence that direction," said Hagel, R-Neb.

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