US channels millions in aid to Palestinian Authority

The last time the head of the Palestinian Authority was in the Oval Office was in January 2001, when Arafat saw former President Clinton just days before President George Bush took office and closed the White House to Arafat.

But Abbas met with Bush today in need of help, as his ruling Fatah party faces a threat in upcoming parliamentary elections from the militant group Hamas, which posted a strong showing in recent local elections.

So the White House prepared a tangible show of support. A plan that Bush was to announce, with Abbas at his side in the Rose Garden, would give the Palestinian Authority a cash infusion for housing and other construction projects, a senior administration official said on grounds of anonymity because the president was ready to make the official announcement.

The vast majority of US aid to the Palestinians has been channelled through other groups, and just €30m has gone directly to the authority over the past two years.

Congress has approved €220m in Palestinian aid for this year and is considering Bush’s request for an additional €140 for next year. The new direct aid was to be part of that package.

However, the meeting is a delicate balancing act for Bush.

With Israel refusing to return to the negotiating table with the Palestinians until Abbas does more to rein in terrorist groups, Bush was pushing Abbas to tackle the tough job of dismantling all Palestinian militant groups. Abbas has tended to choose compromise with militants over confrontation.

Israel also has said it won’t resume talks on the internationally backed road map peace plan until it completes its plan to withdraw settlements this summer from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank.

Amid those developments, Bush has embarked on a fresh drive to invigorate the search for peace in the long-running Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Last month, Bush brought Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, as well as Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, to his Texas ranch.

Abbas was elected as part of “the democratic wave that is sweeping the Middle East,” White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. “This is a hopeful moment in the Middle East,” he said.

Abbas entered the Oval Office hoping for a commitment from Bush to the road map and that Washington will not prejudge the final borders of a future Palestinian state. He was likely to hear Bush call, again, for the creation of a Palestinian state.

Abbas was showing Bush maps of Israel’s continued expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank to demonstrate the threat it poses to Palestinians’ hopes for a viable state. He also was touting the reforms he has made in his government and security forces and the truce – albeit informal and shaky – he secured between militant groups and Israel.

“We are committed to democracy. We believe that negotiations are the path to peace. We are committed to the two-state vision: a Palestinian state and an Israeli state,” Abbas told reporters last night after meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Today, Abbas met with a group of about two dozen American Jews at his hotel, and restated his objections to violence as a tactic. But he did not respond directly when asked if he would order the dismantling of terror groups in Palestinian-held areas, said Martin Raffel of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs in New York.

However, Abbas offered assurances that security would be concentrated under the Palestinian Authority and there will be a “transformation” once elections are held, Raffel said.

The White House focus for the Bush-Abbas talks was Sharon’s settlement withdrawal plan. The US hopes the pullout will jump-start the peace process, and is trying to work with both sides to make sure it goes smoothly, during and after.

Palestinians, however, are sceptical, fearing Sharon’s plan is diverting attention from the roap map and will give Israel cover to hold on to other major West Bank settlements in any final peace deal.