Hey, why not…..its not like we are in a recession, a deficit, or anything like that….and besides what could go wrong with giving millions of dollars to Gaza?

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‘U.S. plans to pledge $900 million for Gaza’

The United States plans to pledge more than $900 million to help rebuild Gaza after Israel’s offensive against Hamas and strengthen the Palestinian Authority, a U.S. official said on Monday.

The money will be channeled through UN and other bodies and will not be distributed via the militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to make the announcement next week at a Gaza donors conference in Egypt.

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Clinton’s bid to get the $900 million could face an uphill battle in Congress where requests for Gaza will likely meet resistance as Hamas continues to rule there and the U.S. focus is on its own souring economy.

In December, the former Bush administration said it would give $85 million to the United Nations agency giving aid to Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Hamas is labeled a terrorist group by the United States and money must be channeled through UN bodies or the Palestinian Authority run by President Mahmoud Abbas.

The United States wants Abbas’ PA to play a central role in the reconstruction effort in Gaza, hoping this will increase its influence in the Hamas stronghold. Washington is also putting pressure on other donors to bolster the Palestinian Authority. Hamas ousted Fatah from Gaza in a bloody 2007 coup.

“We call on donor countries to focus their pledges to meet the Palestinian Authority’s priorities, including budget support, and on projects that can be funded through the Palestinian Authority and other existing, trusted mechanisms,” said the State Department official.

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{The Rest of The Article}

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Tags: Democrats, Gaza, Hamas, Hillary Clinton, Israel, Palestinians, state department

This entry was posted on Monday, February 23rd, 2009 at 5:55 pm and is filed under Democratic Party, Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Middle East, Palestinians, Politics, United Nations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.