LONDON (Reuters):
HAMAS AND President Mahmoud Abbas urged foreign donors yesterday to lift threats to cut vital aid to a new Hamas-led Palestinian government but the United States stood firm, saying it would not directly aid the militant group.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said before meeting other members of the Middle East peace-broking Quartet that her country could not give direct aid to a Hamas-led government, but she promised to consider the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people on a case-by-case basis.
"You have to recognise Israel's right to exist, you have to renounce violence and terrorism. You can't with one hand talk about peace with Israel and on the other hand countenance suicide bombers," she told a news conference in London.
CONDITIONS FOR AID
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has threatened to curtail EU monetary support, said after meeting Abbas in the West Bank that aid depended on whether Hamas met conditions that included abandoning violence and recognising Israel.
Members of the Quartet - the European Union, the United Nations, the United States and Russia - are expected to release a statement after their meeting in London to discuss whether isolating Hamas politically and financially is the best policy.
