US senators show their bias in demand for funds cut-off to PA after Fatah/Hamas deal

The news late last week that 29 senators were demanding the US cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority because of the national reconciliation accord was a depressing knee-jerk reaction on the part of the senators concerned. A slightly more thoughtful approach is on display in the New York Times editorial published yesterday, suggesting it would be a very bad move, if only because it would mean the US loses any leverage in the situation, shifting "the political balance dangerously toward Hamas". Below is a clip on the matter from the influential Foreign Policy magazine.

29 U.S. senators have asked President Barack Obama Friday to cut off aid to the Palestinian government if it joins with Hamas, in a previously unreported letter (PDF) obtained by The Cable.

"The decision of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas to form a unity government with Hamas - a designated terrorist group - threatens to derail the Middle East peace effort for the foreseeable future and to undermine the Palestinian Authority's relationship with the United States," begins the letter, which was spearheaded by Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Robert Casey (D-PA). more

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