U. S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said on Sunday that all aid to the terrorist group Hamas will be cut off, and urged many nations to follow suit.
Rice went on to say in a brief statement that "The U.S. is not prepared to fund an organization that advocates the destruction of Israel, advocates violence, and refuses its obligations under the international framework for Mideast peace.
She also said that humanitaritan aid to the poor Palestianian people will be on a "case by case basis", and that a review will be done on all assisstence programs.
The Bush administration is taking a very tought line on Hamas, and for good reason. A senior leader of Hamas said the other day that no changes will be made with regards to Israel, and none will be forthcoming in the near future.
Now, I have no love for the Bush administration, in fact I think they're a bunch of criminals, but in this case, they are 100% correct in their approach to Hamas.
Why should the US, or anyone else for that matter, fund a terrorist group like Hamas when they will not renounce violence? It would be crazy to do so. Last year the US gave 70 million dollars to the Palestinian people, which is great, but unless Hamas changes its attitude towards Israel and recognizing the right for Israel to exist, then the Bush administration should cut off all funding.
The administration called for elections last year when Arafat passed away, and to some extent, they are reaping what they have sewn, but the Palestinain people are responsible for their own actions as well, and one day soon, I think they will come to realize that they made a huge mistake in electing Hamas to lead them. Yeah, the Fatah party was no picnic with all the corruption around them, but they were enimately preferable to one of the most despised terrorist groups in the world. Hamas are going to have to radically change their ways in order to have good relations with other countries. And until they do, the US should cut off all aid, and should lean on all other countries to do the same.