US, EU to Renew Palestinian Aid

End of embargoes bolsters Hamas-led emergency government
By Caroline Zimmerman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 18, 2007 8:28 PM CDT
US, EU to Renew Palestinian Aid
Newly-appointed Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayad, left, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, center, pause during a swearing in ceremony for the new government at Abbas headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah, Sunday, June 17, 2007. Abbas on Sunday swore in an emergency Cabinet, to...   (Associated Press)

The US and the EU demonstrated support for the emergency Palestinian government today through separate pledges to lift economic embargoes and renew aid to the Palestinian Authority. The promises follow Mahmoud Abbas' establishment of a pro-peace cabinet without members of Hamas, putting the US in the curious position of supporting the dissolution of a democratically elected government, the Times reports.

The US and EU axed aid to the Palestinian Authority after Hamas won a parliamentary majority in 2006; Mahmoud Abbas' formation of a Fatah-led regime spurred plans to mete out millions in direct and indirect aid. Secretary of State Rice pledged to free up $86 million earmarked for security, plus $40 million to the UN for humanitarian aid to Gaza. (More Palestine stories.)

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