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West 'backing illegitimate gov't'
Hamas says the West is using the issue of Palestinian aid to "manipulate the Palestinian people and distance them from the Hamas movement." "By announcing their political and financial support for the Palestinian Authority, the West is backing an illegitimate government," AFP quoted Hamas Spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri as saying on Tuesday. The United States and European Union restored direct aid to Palestinians on Monday in a show of support for Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmud Abbas, who set up an emergency government. EU and US support for the government of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad was "an attempt to manipulate the Palestinian people and distance them from Hamas," Zuhri said, adding that the strategy would not work. The EU and the US froze ties and suspended direct aid to the Palestinian people when Hamas swept to power last year after a shock win over Fatah in January 2006 elections. However, the boycott deepened the desperate economic plight of Palestinians, particularly in the Gaza Strip, one of the most densely populated areas on the planet where 80 percent of the population relies on aid. Posted by: Fred 2007-06-20 |
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