U.S. will give Palestinians extra $150 million in aid
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced Wednesday that the U.S. would give the Palestinian Authority an additional $150 million in direct aid.
“The Palestinian Authority [PA] is reversing a history of corruption and producing results that actually matter and improve the lives of Palestinians,” Mrs. Clinton said during a satelite videolink with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.
“As a result, new businesses are opening, taxes are being collected, services are being delivered. Security is much improved, and the economy is growing,” she said.
The announcement comes as Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, renewed Sept. 2 with the aim of achieving an agreement within a year, remain in limbo.
The Palestinians suspended their participation after the Sept. 26 expiration of Israel’s 10-month settlement moratorium in the West Bank, and U.S. efforts to coax Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into extending the freeze have failed.