Calls for Quick Aid To Embattled Fatah Eyed Cautiously by Israel Allies in D.C.

[Purveyor]

Source: The Forward

Washington - In the wake of this week’s tête-à-tête here between Ehud Olmert and George Bush, a high-stakes debate is shaping up in Washington over just how much American money should go to the troubled Palestinian leadership.

During the visit, Olmert and Bush made a joint call for immediate American aid to bolster the new government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which took office this week following the Hamas takeover of Gaza. After years of pushing for restrictions on any such assistance, the statement represented a dramatic policy shift for both leaders — one that seems to have taken pro-Israeli activists by surprise. Indeed, the request received a cautious reading from American Jewish organizations and from several members of Congress, who have argued that Abbas must adhere to a set of conditions before he can be provided with financial and political assistance.

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Pro-Israel lobbyists and members of Congress who deal with Middle East policy have generally been skeptical about aid to the P.A. When Abbas first came to power after the death of Yasser Arafat in 2004, Congress imposed strict limitations on funds for the Palestinians and demanded that the administration provide detailed reports regarding every dollar spent in the Palestinian territories — a position supported by pro-Israel lobbyists. Now, however, those same Jewish groups are being asked — by the Israeli government itself — to ease the pressure on lawmakers involved in decisions about aid to the Palestinians.

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A different note was struck by New York Democrat Gary Ackerman, who chairs the Subcommittee on the Middle East. Ackerman accused the Bush administration of not helping Abbas earlier, when he could have used the aid to assert his power — “They are a day late and a dollar short,” he said — and argued that Abbas’s new government is trustworthy and understands the need for transparency.

“They talked the talk and they walked the walk,” Ackerman said.




Read more: http://www.forward.com/articles/11006/

[Kagemusha]

1. Shocking! So, so surprised! Totally out of the blue!

Painfully predictable, accurately.

[bemildred]

2. Pay no attention to the little man behind the machine.

If Abbas and the PNA fall, Israel will have to deal with Hamas, or take responsibility for governing the OPT directly again.