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US lawmakers push bill to cut aid to Palestinians
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-02-03 09:01 A bipartisan group of US House of
Representatives members introduced legislation on Thursday to halt U.S. aid to
the Palestinian Authority because the militant group Hamas, dedicated to
destroying Israel, was expected to form a new Palestinian government.
The main sponsors of the bill, which would take a
tougher stance than the Bush administration, said they expected it to get broad
support in the wake of Hamas' stunning victory in Palestinian elections over the
Fatah party.
Lead Singer of the
Irish rock group U2, Bono (R), speaks with US President George W. Bush
during the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC. Bono, quoting the
Koran, the Bible and rock band Dire Straits, urged Bush to boost US aid to
the world's poor by some 25 billion dollars. [AFP] |
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Aid and diplomatic relations would be restored under the bill if Hamas
recognizes Israel's right to exist, renounces terrorism, and lays down its arms.
"We've got to make sure that U.S. taxpayer dollars are not used to assist
directly or indirectly those who are carrying out terrorist attacks or those who
allow these attacks to continue by doing nothing to stop terror," said Rep.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (news, bio, voting record), a Florida Republican.
Beside cutting off direct aid, the bill would restrict non-humanitarian
assistance to the Palestinians through non-governmental organizations, cut
diplomatic contacts with the Palestinian Authority and treat it as a terrorist
entity, close its offices in the United States other than its United Nations
representative, and limit travel of its representatives.
The bill also would withhold U.S. funds to the United Nations equal to the
amount the world body provides the Palestinians.
The Bush administration has said Hamas' role in a Palestinian government
threatened U.S. aid, although it has urged the aid continue to an interim
government.
MONEY FOR PALESTINIANS
For 2006, the United States has budgeted $150 million in assistance to the
Palestinians, and a further $84 million to the U.N. fund.
Ros-Lehtinen and California Democratic Rep. Tom Lantos (news, bio, voting
record) at a news conference said the bill, which had 30 co-sponsors, showed the
determination in Congress to confront Hamas.
"Our desire to continue humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people
will of course continue," said Lantos, top Democrat on the House International
Relations Committee.
"But the notion that an organization which is hell-bent on destroying the one
democratic state in the Middle East should be receiving ... assistance from the
United States is unacceptable," Lantos said.
Congressional aides said the White House recognized the pressure building
among lawmakers to take action in the wake of the Palestinian elections.
But they said the administration wanted the bill to provide President George
W. Bush broad discretion to waive provisions, while lawmakers wanted the waivers
on a tight case-by-case basis.
"Any time you get this kind of legislation that proposes restrictions on the
president's ability to conduct foreign policy you're always going to bump into
balance of power issues," said a State Department official, who did not want to
be named to avoid upsetting ongoing negotiations with lawmakers on the
bill.
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