Two U.S. congressmen are circulating a petition warning President Bush against allocating U.S. money to a Palestinian government that could be funding terrorists.
On Monday, Reps. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.) and Mike Pence (R-Ind.) asked colleagues to sign a letter demanding that no money be handed over to Palestinian recipients “if there is a chance that those resources could be redirected to terrorist organizations such as Hamas.”
Last week, Bush announced $80 million in aid to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah security forces and $194 million in humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
As a condition of receiving aid, the letter asks that Fatah remove anti-Israel clauses from its constitution. The letter also urges the president to revoke aid to the Palestinians should a new Palestinian unity government include Hamas, unless Hamas renounces terrorism, recognizes Israel and agrees to abide by previous Palestinian agreements with the Jewish state.
