United States Pledges $900 Million for Palestinians
In pledging assistance at a conference that hopes to raise more than $3 billion for the Palestinian Authority, the United States is pursuing both short- and long-term strategies, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Washington — Saying time is of the essence, the United States pledged $900 million in humanitarian aid for the Palestinians at an international conference in Egypt.
In pledging assistance at a conference that hopes to raise more than $3 billion for the Palestinian Authority, the United States is pursuing both short- and long-term strategies, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said.
“Our response to today’s crisis in Gaza cannot be separated from our broader efforts to achieve a comprehensive peace,” Clinton said March 2. “Only by acting now can we turn this crisis into an opportunity that moves us closer to our shared goals.”
Clinton, making her first diplomatic trip to the Middle East, will include stops in Jerusalem to consult with the Israelis and in Ramallah in the West Bank for meetings with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. One objective is to accelerate peace efforts between the Israelis and Palestinians, Clinton said.
“The United States is committed to a comprehensive peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and we will pursue it on many fronts. So too will we vigorously pursue a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” she said.
The one-day international donors conference was convened by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The Palestinians had hoped to raise $2.78 billion that also included $1.3 billion for the Gaza Strip at the conference, but donations exceeded that amount.
Mubarak has also held reconciliation talks between the Fatah Party and Hamas in an effort to create a unity government.
Clinton made clear that the funding would not go to the terrorist group Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. The Palestinian Authority controls the West Bank territories.
“Our pledge of over $900 million, designed in coordination with the Palestinian Authority and to be submitted to the United States Congress, will deliver assistance to the people of Gaza and the West Bank,” Clinton said in remarks at the conference. A portion of the assistance funds will require congressional approval.
Of the $900 million, $300 million is for urgent humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which was badly damaged by a three-week conflict between the Israelis and Hamas in December. In addition, $200 million is designed to help cover budget shortfalls in the Palestinian government, and $400 million for economic reform and private-sector projects in the West Bank territories.
State Department spokesman Robert Wood said the U.S. assistance funds for Gaza would be channeled through the United Nations and other organizations. “Hamas is not getting any of this money,” Wood said during a press briefing March 1.
Before leaving for talks in Jerusalem and Ramallah, Clinton was to meet with the other members of the Quartet of Middle East peacemakers — the United Nations, the European Union ( EU ) and Russia. Joining Clinton at the conference was U.S. Middle East special envoy George Mitchell, who is also visiting countries in the region.
After meetings in the Middle East, Clinton travels to Brussels for the NATO foreign ministers informal meeting, her first, and for meetings with EU officials — EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Czech Foreign Minister Karl Schwarzenberg and Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, a State Department official said.
From Brussels, Clinton goes to Geneva for a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and also a meeting with Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey. And before returning to Washington, Clinton will meet with Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan in Ankara, Turkey.
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