Ariel Sharon told two top congressional leaders that the United States should not directly fund the Palestinian Authority. Reps. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), their parties’ whips, are leading the third high-level congressional delegation to Israel in recent months. In his meeting Monday, the Israeli prime minister said the United States should focus on investment and not directly fund the Palestinian Authority because such money might have been used in the past to fund terrorism. The United States last week allocated $22.5 million in direct funding to the Palestinian Authority, though a significant portion of that sum reportedly was earmarked for Israeli companies that provide utilities to the Palestinians.
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