29 Democrat senators tell Obama to cut aid to PA

[ 08/05/2011 - 05:38 PM ]

NAZARETH, (PIC)-- 29 US Democrat senators told president Barack Obama he should cut aid to the Palestinian Authority in the event Hamas joined its government following the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement.

The Democratic party senators sent a message to Obama carrying this meaning on Friday, Israeli press reports said on Sunday.

The Yediot Ahronot said, "The letter, initiated by Senators Robert Menendez from New Jersey and Bob Casey from Pennsylvania, has been signed by senior Senators, including Carl Levin, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, and Daniel Inouye, who heads the Senate's Appropriations Committee."

"In their letter to President Obama, the Democrat senators write that "the decision of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas to form a unity government with Hamas – a designated terrorist group – threatens to derail the Middle East peace effort."

The paper noted that the US Administration has earmarked $550 million to the PA for 2011.

"The United States should stand by its refusal to work with any Palestinian government that includes Hamas," the letter says.

Now, along with Republican party senators endorsing the move, there is a clear majority in support of cutting the "massive aid" offered by the Administration to the Palestinians, the paper pointed out.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian