(Wall Street Journal) Editorial - How should the Obama Administration respond to the news that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has signed a deal with Hamas to form a unity government? The U.S. has budgeted $500 million in direct assistance to the PA for the current fiscal year, plus another $232 million for the UN welfare agency that deals with the descendants of Palestinian refugees. U.S. law prohibits aid to any Palestinian government that includes Hamas. Would the U.S. continue to fund and train a Palestinian security apparatus that merges with Hamas' paramilitary units? Let's hope not. Eventually the U.S. will have to make some determination about the utility of funding a Palestinian government that scorns negotiations with Israel and rarely bothers to pay even lip service to U.S. interests.
2012-02-09 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive