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UNRWA's donors to continue aid under Hamas-led gov't — official
UNRWA Commissioner General Karen AbuZayd on Tuesday said the humanitarian agency was not worried about the possibility of donor countries cutting off aid after a Hamas-led Palestinian Authority government takes over office. “We are not scared. Donor countries have not in any way said they will stop their aid to UNRWA. On the contrary, we were approached by many of these countries, even Israel, asking us to continue our services to Palestinian refugees and perhaps even extend these services to do things we haven't done before,” AbuZayd told a press conference yesterday.

There has been growing concern over a possible suspension of international aid to the Palestinians following Hamas' victory in the Jan. 25 general elections. Hamas, which has already control of the Palestinian parliament and named its leader Ismail Haniyeh as prime minister-designate, is considered by the US and the European Union as a terrorist organisation. Both the EU and the US have ruled out assistance to a Hamas-led government, which will succeed the interim government under Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

But the EU backed down agreed on Monday to grant 120 million euros ($143 million) in urgent aid to the Palestinians, in a move widely seen as aiming to prevent the possible financial collapse of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Posted by: Fred 2006-03-01
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=144079