German FM Steinmeier (L), Rice and Solana during news conference
Photo: AFP
US, Europeans say aid embargo against PA remains
Following meeting with American secretary of state, EU foreign policy chief Solana says Quartet will normalize relations with PA unity government after its demands are met. Rice: I want clarity from PA's Haniyeh over ‘right to resistance’ remark
The United States said on Monday an international aid embargo would remain against the new Palestinian government, but Europe’s foreign policy chief said he hoped it would ultimately meet conditions laid down by world powers for lifting it.
European Position
EU welcomes establishment of unity government, says renewal of direct aid would depend on assessment of new cabinet's acceptance of Quartet demands
American officials told Ynet that the Europeans, including Norway, which promised to transfer aid to the Palestinians, cannot directly transfer aid to the Palestinian Authority at this time due to the international banks’ objection to transfer funds without the authorization of the US Treasury.
The United Nations, the European Union, Russia and the United States—the so-called quartet countries—have demanded the Hamas-led government recognize Israel, renounce violence and agree to Israeli-Palestinian accords before the embargo is lifted.
But the new Palestinian government, which was sworn in last weekend and brings together Islamic Hamas and the more moderate Fatah party of President Mahmoud Abbas, had not yet met those conditions, the EU’s Javier Solana said.
“We expect very much that this government ... Will be taking the positions of the quartet as much as possible and in the end completely, (we) will have a total normalization of relations,” he said at a news conference with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other European ministers.
Solana said he was waiting for action from the new government. “It’s much more important what they do than what they say at this point in time,” he said.
'Do you mean the right of resistance by violence?'
Quartet ministers spoke by telephone on Monday and State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said there was no change in the aid embargo unless the new government met quartet demands. A quartet statement will likely be released on Tuesday.
The quartet agreed on the aid embargo after Hamas won Palestinian elections in January 2006 and it rules out direct aid to the government unless the conditions are met.
Rice, who will visit the Palestinian territories and Israel in the coming days, said she wanted clarity from Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh over what he meant when he said the Palestinian people had a “right to resistance,” a phrase in the new government’s platform that has rankled Israel and others.
“I am not going to try to interpret what the right of resistance means, but I’ll tell you, it doesn’t sound very good to me,” Rice told the same news conference.
“I would put the question to the Palestinian government and to its prime minister: ‘Do you mean the right of resistance by violence?’” said Rice.
Rice underscored the Bush administration’s support for Abbas and said she planned to meet him during her upcoming trip, when she will also see Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in addition to Arab ministers on a stopover in Egypt.
It is likely she will meet the Israelis and the Palestinians a second time during her trip, said McCormack, without providing more details.
Previously the United States has taken Israel’s stand and said it would not deal with a Palestinian government that contains Hamas but, in a shift, McCormack said Washington may have contacts with some non-Hamas members in the authority.
Asked whether this indicated a split with Israel over how to deal with the Palestinian unity government, McCormack declined to discuss their differences except to say each country would have its own “contact policy.”
European Union External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said a mechanism to get money to the Palestinians while bypassing the government would be extended for three months while the quartet made a judgment on the new government.
“It is very important that, in this delicate moment, we at least can go on with our temporary international mechanism,” she said. The United States does not funnel money via that mechanism.
Yitzhak Benhorin contributed to the report
