The Bush administration is expected to wait until after a Hamas-led
government is in place to make final decisions on the fate of U.S. aid programs,
U.S. diplomats said on Thursday.
Hamas Prime
Minister-designate Ismail Haniyeh (2nd-R) inaugurates a Palestinian
foundation in Gaza, March 23, 2006.
[Reuters] |
A delay of several weeks could buy the administration time to try to iron out
differences with its partners in the Quartet of Middle East mediators -- the
European Union, Russia and the United Nations -- over how to sideline the
Islamic militant group without collapsing the Palestinian economy.
The delay could also give the Bush administration time to see what policies
Hamas puts in place and assess how its government will be structured before
announcing any decision.
Stewart Tuttle, the U.S. Embassy spokesman, said the Bush administration's
position on Hamas remained unchanged and that there was no connection between
the timing of the aid review and the formation of a Hamas government.
The EU has held back from deciding the fate of its financial aid to the
Palestinians, giving Hamas more time to act on calls to moderate its stance on
Israel.
Hamas's government is expected to win parliamentary approval next week, but
U.S. officials said the administration's review of all aid programs was unlikely
to be completed for several more weeks, if not longer.
"The formal formation of a Hamas government is not the red line for our
decisions on which aid programs are going to go forward," said Tuttle.
"Our evaluation of all of our programs is ongoing and decisions on which
programs will go forward -- and how -- will move on its own timetable," Tuttle
added.
"It's wait-and-see," said a U.S. diplomatic source. "We're not going to get
out in front of the formation of a government."