June 3, 2005/Iyar 25 5765, Volume 57, No. 40
Bush gives Abbas $50 million present
RON KAMPEAS
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President Bush's announcement May 26 of $50 million in funding for the Palestinian Authority reverses April's victory for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, when the pro-Israel lobby helped draft provisions in congressional appropriations that essentially blocked direct aid to the Palestinian Authority.
Bush's news conference with P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas also included tough language toward Israel, including warnings about Israeli settlement building and the West Bank security barrier.
The handout to the Palestinian Authority - just days after the mere mention of "President Bush" generated automatic cheers at AIPAC's annual policy conference - defies bills from both houses of Congress in April.
Those bills all but ordered Bush to funnel $200 million in Palestinian aid money through nongovernmental organizations, to Israel, or even on a new tower for Hadassah Hospital - just about anywhere but the Palestinian Authority, which has been beset in the past by rampant corruption and ties to terrorism.
AIPAC declined to comment on the announcement, but was likely to take some consolation in the fact that Bush didn't issue a blank check, and said the money would be spent on special projects subject to oversight by U.S. officials.
Dovish pro-Israel Jewish groups welcomed the move as a necessary boost for Abbas, a relative moderate they see as the last best chance for peace in the region.
"It's a good sign that the president is willing to work with Abbas and bring the parties together," said Seymour Reich, president of the Israel Policy Forum and one of more than 60 Jewish leaders who met with Abbas on May 26 before his audience with Bush.
Israel did not go unscathed in Bush's remarks.
"Israel must remove unauthorized outposts and stop settlement expansion," he said.