RAMALLAH/GAZA CITY, 19 June 2007 — The United States and the European Union yesterday restored direct aid to Palestinians in a show of support for President Mahmoud Abbas. The announcements cleared the way for the resumption of hundreds of millions of dollars in direct aid to the government, cut off in early 2006 after Hamas took power.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she informed new Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad of the decision to resume direct aid in a phone call. “I told him the United States would resume full assistance to the Palestinian government and normal government-to-government contacts,” she told reporters at the State Department. “I told the prime minister that we want to work with his government and support his efforts to enforce the rule of law and to ensure a better life for the Palestinian people.”
In Luxembourg, EU foreign ministers announced a similar lifting of the aid embargo.
Israel has said it would consider unlocking $550 million in customs duties it has withheld from the Palestinians since Hamas took power.
The developments came after Abbas acted tough yesterday, dissolving the National Security Council and pledging to control Gaza.
The National Security Council was formed in March in a bid to reorganize and delegate security responsibilities between Hamas and Fatah. Mohammed Dahlan, Fatah’s Gaza strongman, was appointed to head the organization and deposed Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh was named his deputy. Hamas never reconciled to the idea of sharing security duties with Fatah.
Abbas also set up a special committee to investigate the actions of Fatah during last week’s battles between the group and Hamas. His action followed calls from influential politicians to fire Dahlan and other top Fatah officials following Hamas’ bloody takeover of Gaza.
Israel, the transit point for goods entering the Gaza Strip, ordered cargo shipments bound for the Hamas-controlled territory blocked, the Israeli customs authority said in a letter.
Officials, however, said shipments to Gaza, an impoverished enclave almost entirely dependent on imports and international aid, may be allowed to go through at a later date.
Worried Gazans stocked up on essentials, fearing the border crossings would remain shut. “I have children to feed and I cannot feed them on politics. They need rice and flour,” said Abu Khalil, a 45-year-old father of six.
At least one Palestinian was killed and 15 were wounded as gunmen and Israeli soldiers exchanged fire yesterday at the Erez crossing between Israel and Gaza, the Israeli rescue service and Palestinian hospital officials said. The military said no Israelis were injured.
Israel TV said as many as four people were killed, and some of the wounded were being taken by ambulance to an Israeli hospital in nearby Ashkelon.
The Israeli Army said the casualties were all caused by the Palestinian attackers, who hurled a hand grenade and fired bursts of automatic weapons fire at a group of dozens of people huddled in a concrete tunnel on the Gaza side of the crossing as they sought to flee the coastal strip.
“The casualties are from the Palestinian fire,” Maj. Tal Evram, an army spokesman said. “The incident is primarily a Palestinian terror attack on Palestinians.”
