Obama thinks U.S. aid to Palestinian Authority critical to Mideast stability





Assistant Secretary State Jacob Walles and Mahmoud Abbas

  

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The Obama administration on Tuesday defended the U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority, telling Congress the assistance is critical to peace and stability in the Mideast.

Testifying before a House panel, officials from the State Department said Tuesday that helping to build Palestinian governmental institutions and an economy is essential to the security of both Israel and the Palestinians. 

How much money can I give you this time Mahmoud



Last week, the House overwhelmingly backed a resolution calling on the Obama administration to consider suspending aid to the Palestinian Authority in light of the deal between the government and Hamas, considered a terrorist group by Israel and the U.S. 

Peter Welch (D-VT)



Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Jacob Walles said the administration will closely monitor whether a new government emerges and will reassess the aid.

 After the state department announced its opposition to the Palestinian statehood bid at the United Nations, the leaders of the leftist pro-Israel group recently launched a new campaign lobbying members of Congress to support a new Congressional letter urging President Barack Obama to ensure that the U.S. will not cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority

Rep. David Price D-NC



The letter to Obama was initiated by Representatives David Price (D-NC) and Peter Welch (D-VT), in which they express their concern about recent proposals to cut assistance to the Palestinian Authority, saying that such a step “would diminish prospects for peace and regional stability in the Middle East".

Take that Be Be



The two wrote they are concerned about "the possible emergence of a Palestinian government that refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist or to renounce violence against innocent civilians", but argue that "these legitimate concerns must be weighed against the essential role that U.S. assistance to the PA plays in providing security and stability for Palestinians and Israelis as well as critical humanitarian relief to the Palestinian people—and the potential consequences if this assistance were terminated. “

The letter stressed that suspending U.S. aid to the Palestinians would undo the progress that has been made over the past years to strengthen the Palestinian Authority’s governance institutions, and warned that it would “increase the likelihood of instability and violence, and in turn threaten Israel’s security.”

Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly backed a resolution calling on the Obama administration to consider suspending aid to the Palestinian Authority in light of the deal between the government and Hamas, considered a terrorist group by Israel and the U.S.