(Al-Monitor) Julian Pecquet - "The Palestinian leaders know that a unity government would trigger U.S. law to cut off funding, so now they are trying to find loopholes in order to say that they are still abiding by the conditions our law's mandate," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), the author of 2006 legislation that bars taxpayer support for a "Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority." "The PA deciding to partner with a designated foreign terrorist organization once again reaffirms that Abu Mazen is not a true partner for peace and the U.S. must respond by withholding assistance to any Hamas backed unity government." House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the decision "places in jeopardy the millions of dollars in foreign assistance," while Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) called it a "deeply disturbing step away from the pursuit of peace." Rep. Kay Granger, (R-Texas), chairwoman of the House Appropriations panel that controls the purse strings for State Department and Foreign Operations funding, said, "Funding for the Palestinians is off the table until it is clear that the unity government is committed to peace and security."
2014-06-03 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive