No More Aid For PA

Condoleeza Rice is ruling out funding for Hamas-

"The United States is not prepared to fund an organization that advocates the destruction of Israel, that advocates violence and that refuses its obligations."

The US will continue to provide US taxpayer's money to Abbas' current government- it will also continue to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinian people "many of whom are poor and unemployed" on a case-by-case basis. Perhaps that poverty would be aleviated if the Palestinians stopped the violence and created a stable environment where businesses would actually want to invest?

The PA's current annual budget is $1.6 billion. $1 billion of that comes from overseas donors, with Europe providing more than half that figure. The rest of the billion dollars comes from international donor agencies, Arab and Asian governments and the USA- which gave "$70 million in direct aid to the PA last year". The United States also spent $225 million of it's citizen's money on humanitarian projects through USAID last year- with a further $88 million on refugee assistance.

Just how long have those refugees been there? And how long does it take them to get back on their own feet and stop relying on foreign aid for their survival?

Update - It looks like the EU is going to give Hamas some time to think things over-

"European Union foreign ministers ruled out an immediate cutoff of financial aid to a Hamas-led Palestinian government, saying the movement deserves a chance to give up its armed struggle and embrace peace with Israel."