Rice met with Arab refusal to isolate Hamas

[Judi Lynn]

Rice met with Arab refusal to isolate Hamas

RIYADH, Feb 23, 2006 (PG) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with a new Arab refusal to isolate Hamas as she arrived Wednesday in Saudi Arabia on the second leg of a Middle East tour aimed at putting pressure on the Palestinian movement to renounce violence.

Her Saudi counterpart, Prince Saud al-Faisal, warned that Riyadh would continue to back the Palestinian Authority financially, even after the radical movement won elections in the territories.

"We do not want to link international aid to the Palestinian people with considerations other than their terrible humanitarian needs," Saud told a press conference held jointly with Rice, who repeated the American position that the US was conscious of the Palestinians' needs.

Washington has asked the Palestinian Authority to return 50 million dollars in aid for infrastructure projects, fearing that it would fall into the hands of Hamas, regarded as a terrorist group by the US and Europe.
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http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read.html?id=6321

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