Bush pledges $50m aid to Palestinians

US PRESIDENT George Bush yesterday pledged $50 million (€40m) in aid to the Palestinian Authority.

While making the pledge, Mr Bush praised Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’s steps toward democracy and predicted that Palestinians will reject candidates of the militant group Hamas in upcoming elections.

Mr Bush, with Mr Abbas at his side in the White House Rose Garden, said it was his hope that “more and more people will reject the notion” of violence.