http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2007-02-23T230915Z_01_L23324016_RTRUKOC_0_US-PALESTINIANS-EUROPE-HAMAS.xml&src=rss
European states will send money to new gov't: Hamas Fri Feb 23, 2007 6:09 PM ET By Alaa Shahine CAIRO (Reuters) - Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said on Friday several European states have pledged to send money to the new Palestinian government, adding that key peace mediators could also challenge the U.S. decision to shun the Palestinians. Meshaal said the United States was no longer able to convince other members of the Quartet of the Middle East mediators to maintain financial sanctions imposed on the Palestinian government after Hamas's surprise victory in a 2006 general election. "There are European countries that have already decided on their annual financial support to the Palestinian government and have contacted Palestinian officials," Meshaal told a news conference in Cairo. "The international community has started to take steps to break the embargo," he said. But he declined to name the countries that have made the pledges and did not say whether they would wait for an official decision from the quartet -- the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia -- to lift the sanctions. The Islamist Hamas and the Fatah group of President Mahmoud Abbas reached an agreement this month in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to form a unity government, hoping such a deal would end the U.S.-led boycott and stop Palestinian infighting. Banks have refused to transfer money from Arab and international donors in the past fearing U.S. sanctions. This forced Hamas officials several times to carry suitcases stuffed with money across the border with Egypt, while some other cash was sent directly to Abbas. The quartet on Wednesday repeated a demand that the new government renounce violence, recognize Israel and accept interim peace deals but put off a decision on how to deal with the government once it is formed. Although the unity government fell short of directly meeting those demands, Western diplomats have said the agreement between Hamas and Fatah has widened divisions within the quartet. The United States, Israel's chief ally, wants to continue to shun the unity government. Russia and some other European governments favor a softer line. Asked whether the European promises to end the sanctions were serious, Meshaal said: "Before the Mecca agreement, some European parties were promising support if we reached an agreement." "After the Mecca agreement, some promises are becoming practical steps. I am talking about specific ... obligations, and not just about mere promises," he said. The financial sanctions have pushed the Palestinian Authority to the brink of financial collapse and raised poverty rates in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank. A report by the U.N. World Food Program, released on Thursday, estimated that nearly half of Palestinians were unable to produce or access the food they needed. Cairo was the first stop in Meshaal's tour that includes Russia and Iran to gather support for a deal on the Palestinian unity government. Meshaal said he agreed with Egyptian officials on "important steps" to reach a deal with Israel that could secure the release of many Palestinian prisoners in the Jewish state's jails in exchange for an Israeli soldier Palestinian gunmen had captured in June. He said Israel was blocking the possible swap. "The ball is in the (court) of Israeli leaders," he said without elaboration. Both sides have traded similar accusations in the past. +++ ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Check out the new improvements in Yahoo! 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