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.

Mr Bush also announced that US will pay $50m (€40m) in housing aid for Gaza. However, the US gives Israel and Egypt $2bn (€1.6bn) each year.

“You have made a new start on a difficult journey, requiring courage and leadership each day. And we will take that journey together,” Mr Bush told Mr Abbas in the first visit of a top-ranking Palestinian leader to the White House of his presidency.

For his part, Mr Abbas vowed to adhere to the US-supported peace process. But, he said: “Time is becoming our greatest enemy. We must end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict before it is too late.”

The $50m in direct aid is part of a $150m (€120m) package that Mr Bush is seeking for the Palestinians from Congress.

Mr Bush said the money would help Palestinians settle into Gaza once the Israel withdrawal set for this summer is complete.

“America wants to help,” Mr Bush said.

He said both the Palestinians and Israelis must live up to their obligations under the so-called “road map” peace process that calls for the creation of a Palestinian state.

He warned that Israel must “remove unauthorised outposts and stop settlement expansions.”

Mr Bush said he supports the Palestinian goal of a democratic state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital.

He also reiterated Palestinian objections to a barrier being built by Israel to protect its territory.

Mr Abbas said he remains committed to establishing a Palestinian democracy.

“But democracy is like a coin, it has two sides, on the one side is democracy and the other side is freedom. Now we lack freedom,” he added.