One week after the Palestinian Authority (PA) swore in its new Hamas-led government, the United States Friday announced that it will suspend all direct aid to the PA while sharply increasing humanitarian assistance to the people under its control. The move, which followed a similar announcement by the European Commission (EC) Thursday, comes as the PA, which was unable to pay its 140,000 employees last month, faces total financial collapse. "Because the new Hamas-led Palestinian government has failed to accept the Quartet principles of non-violence, recognition of Israel, and respect for previous agreements between the parties," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack in reference to conditions for aid to Hamas agreed in February by the U.S., the European Union (EU), Russia and the ...
Sally - 9 months ago
