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U.S. Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice. (AP)
Last update - 18:01 22/02/2008
U.S. to announce new aid plan for West Bank, Gaza Strip
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Condoleezza Rice, Gaza Strip 

The United States plans to announce tens of millions of dollars in new aid for the West Bank and Gaza next week to ease the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territories, U.S. officials said on Friday.

The funds will be channeled through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees, which handles U.S. and other assistance for food, health, education and other areas, said U.S. officials, who declined to provide the exact figure as the official announcement will be made during a trip to the region next week.

Condoleezza Rice to discuss Gaza crisis with Olmert in Japan
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rime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice while both are in Japan next week. The meeting was requested by Rice. It is particularly surprising because Rice is due to come to Jerusalem for a working visit the following week.

Government officials predicted that the meeting would focus on the situation in the Gaza Strip, and said that Rice probably wanted to express her concern over the humanitarian situation there.

General William Fraser, the U.S. envoy responsible for monitoring implementation of the road map peace plan, visited Israel this week and met with officials in the Prime Minister's Office, the defense establishment and the Foreign Ministry. Fraser's job is to determine whether both sides are fulfilling their obligations under the road map's first stage, which includes evacuating illegal settlement outposts for Israel and fighting terror for the Palestinian Authority.

A government official said that on his next trip, Fraser would present a plan for how both sides should move forward on these obligations.

Haaretz has reported that the U.S. - like its fellow members of the Quartet, the EU, UN and Russia - is increasingly unhappy with Israel's policies in Gaza. Rice's deputy, David Welch, even told the last Quartet meeting that the U.S. "is not comfortable" with Israel's operations in Gaza.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni responded to these sentiments at two different diplomatic meetings Thursday, one with the Romanian foreign minister and one with the EU envoy for the peace process, Marc Otte.

"Europe must understand that Hamas is not an organization that is interested in setting up a Palestinian state," she told her Romanian counterpart. "It is not seeking rights for the Palestinians; it wants to deprive others of their rights."

"All indirect support for Hamas, even via discussions about opening the [border] crossings or about the humanitarian situation, only weakens those parties that are interested in reaching a [diplomatic] agreement," she said. "The Palestinian people has no future with Hamas, and Israel will continue to fight the terror that Hamas perpetrates."

At her meeting with Otte, Livni was even blunter. "Israel wants to advance the diplomatic process, but we cannot allow ourselves to close our eyes to the difficult reality of terror in Gaza," she said. "The international community's desire to see a change on the ground sometimes leads it to ignore the reality and is liable to [lead it to] push for compromises that those who live here cannot permit themselves. Europe ought to understand that it is either Hamas or the moderates."

Related articles:
  • EU resolution lambastes Israel over Gaza Strip isolation policy
  • Livni: Palestinian people have no future under Hamas rule
  • Shmuel Rosner / What America wants from an operation in Gaza
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      1.   Israel can only defecate on the `peace` process so many times... 04:02  |  POP 22/02/08
      2.   How long before the US walks away? 04:09  |  spyguy 22/02/08
      3.   Its time to unleash the dogs of war into Gaza 04:11  |  THE WARRIOR 22/02/08
      4.   The Useless meets with the Incompetent 04:19  |  Mark Lincoln 22/02/08
      5.   The EU and the USA should but out! 04:20  |  Israeli Nationalist! 22/02/08
      6.   POP u hunk of poop 04:48  |  * BEN JABO 22/02/08
      7.   #2 Spyguy , what makes U think anyone cares 04:50  |  * BEN JABO 22/02/08
      8.   To Israeli Nationalist 04:58  |  Janice 22/02/08
      9.   #5 israeli nationalist 05:03  |  * BEN JABO 22/02/08
      10.   #4 Lincoln - And from your armchair,what are U 05:06  |  * BEN JABO 22/02/08
      11.   Egypt is comfortable with Israel`s operations in Gaza 05:09  |  Joseph . E 22/02/08
      12.   Humanitarian situation does need immediate attention 05:11  |  Nechama 22/02/08
      13.   Time to deal with Gaza 05:14  |  Steve 22/02/08
      14.   " It is either Hamas or the moderates." 05:20  |  ZADOK 22/02/08
      15.   Re #4 05:25  |  Matt 22/02/08
      16.   Israel cannot exist as an Occupational Apartheid State. 05:27  |  POP 22/02/08
      17.   To # 1 POP, with all due respect 05:30  |  dan 22/02/08
      18.   Oh to be a fly on that wall! 05:32  |  Johnboy 22/02/08
      19.   THE WARRIOR,."the dogs of war"??? 05:38  |  akiva (zionist) 22/02/08
      20.   Hamas Missile Attacks Don`t Bother Them 05:41  |  Tony 22/02/08
      21.   Mark Lincoln, ever the melodamatic and mediocrit... 05:42  |  akiva (zionist) 22/02/08
      22.   Worried Rice should probably get lost together 05:44  |  Sal 22/02/08
      23.   To those that say the US should be out 05:50  |  Jay 22/02/08
      24.   #5 Israeli Nationalist 05:53  |  dan 22/02/08
      25.   Where is Hamas? 06:04  |  Rafterman 22/02/08
      26.   To Israeli Nationalist (#5), Ben Jabo (#9) 06:38  |  Morris Valentine 22/02/08
      27.   Kosovo and Islam`s Balkanization of the World 06:59  |  Joseph E . post 1 22/02/08
      28.   The Balkanization track follows the same pattern. 07:00  |  Joseph E . post 2 22/02/08
      29.   Stage 2: VIOLENCE - 07:01  |  Joseph E . Post 3 22/02/08
      30.   Stage 3: SECESSION - 07:02  |  Joseph E . Post 4 22/02/08
      31.   Stage 4: WAR - 07:03  |  Joseph E . Post 5 22/02/08
      32.   Stage 5: SURRENDER - 07:03  |  Joseph E . Post 6 22/02/08
      33.   Stage 6: CONQUEST - 07:05  |  Joseph E . Post 7 22/02/08
      34.   Stage 7: MISERY - 07:06  |  Joseph E . Post 8 22/02/08
      35.   This is what we are now facing today. 07:07  |  Joseph E . Post 9 22/02/08
      36.   International law and Gaza. 07:24  |  Jean Van Daem 22/02/08
      37.   Stage 8: CORRECTIONS TO STAGE 1 07:31  |  Morris Valentine 22/02/08
      38.   What Rice can achieve in the few months that is left for her ? 07:32  |  Akram Zekaria 22/02/08
      39.   # 5 and #24 07:36  |  Palestinian 22/02/08
      40.   Rice and EU are concerns about Gaza 07:42  |  Palestinian 22/02/08
      41.   WORRY 07:43  |  colin 22/02/08
      42.   U.S. not comfortable with Israel policy in Gaza 08:25  |  Douglas Kazdoy 22/02/08
      43.   not going anywhere... 08:39  |  ravi 22/02/08
      44.   comfortable but true 08:53  |  ron 22/02/08
      45.   Rice butt out of our affairs. 08:56  |  Avraham 22/02/08
      46.   US brought Hamas to power,now Rice comes with more manure 09:26  |  Absolute Sweden 22/02/08
      47.   # 37 Morris Valentine @ Los Angeles, Calif / USA 09:51  |  Joseph . E 22/02/08
      48.   Wrong direction ! 09:52  |  Robert 22/02/08
      49.   Rice 10:05  |  Tom Paine 22/02/08
      50.   Rice should start discussing the rockets attacks on Sderot 10:05  |  viking 22/02/08
      51.   #36 no legal means to engage in trade with Gaza 10:23  |  Ben Sina 22/02/08
      52.   A growing trend signals a change in direction 10:44  |  Natallie Durson 22/02/08
      53.   AMERICANS ARE PRISONERS BECAUSE OF ... 10:52  |  ATİLLA KARAGÖZOĞLU 22/02/08
      54.   I SEE TWO ENDS 10:55  |  ATİLLA KARAGÖZOĞLU 22/02/08
      55.   HAARETZ ! TODAY IS FRIDAY ! I BELIEVE I AM FREE TO TALK 10:58  |  ATİLLA KARAGÖZOĞLU 22/02/08
      56.   Israeli Nationalist Has a Point, US Should Stop Using its Veto 10:58  |  Johan Odin 22/02/08
      57.   Rice unhappy : Gazans tried to link up with El Arish in Egypt , 10:59  |  avigdor 22/02/08
      58.   Worried Rice should be shamed! 11:03  |  Dromit 22/02/08
      59.   to Palestinean 11:04  |  Abby 22/02/08
      60.   America Caused The Hamas Problem 11:20  |  MB 22/02/08
      61.   Hey Rice, Comfortable with rockets? 11:34  |  Petra 22/02/08
      62.   Spyguy 11:36  |  Sabra 22/02/08
      63.   My Ring is Mr. Burston`s article, today 11:44  |  Atilla Karagözoğlu 22/02/08
      64.   Rice is willing 11:49  |  Sabra 22/02/08
      65.   Rice is worried because 11:56  |  Chris Linthwaite 22/02/08
      66.   Rice should be concerned about Humanitarian 11:57  |  Click 22/02/08
      67.   Rice should be concerned about the Humanitarian 11:59  |  ClickSchmuck 22/02/08
      68.   the memory of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin z`l . 12:03  |  Joseph E . post 2 22/02/08
      69.   Rice is a bit late. I thought that the Gazans are not comfortable 12:09  |  S 22/02/08
      70.   The Warrior 12:20  |  The Thinker 22/02/08