Hamas calls on West not to cut aid to Palestinians

Hamas and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas today asked the international community not to cut vital aid to the Palestinians, as world leaders met to discuss the fallout from the Islamic militant group’s victory in elections last week.

Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader in Gaza, promised that foreign aid would go only toward helping ordinary Palestinians and said a Hamas government is ready to have its spending monitored. He also said the group is ready to negotiate the terms of continued foreign aid with the international community.