Clinton to announce aid for Gaza totaling $300 million

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today will pledge about $300 million in U.S. humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip, plus about $600 million in assistance to the Palestinian Authority, a U.S. official said Sunday.

State Department spokesman Robert A. Wood told reporters traveling with Clinton on Sunday that she would announce the donations at an international pledging conference at this Red Sea resort. The conference is seeking money for Gaza and the Palestinian economy.

Obama administration officials had indicated last week the U.S. was preparing to pledge $900 million in assistance for Gaza, but Wood's description of the plan Sunday indicated the only portion going directly to rebuilding Gaza was $300 million.

Wood said that while all of the money is subject to approval by Congress, the intent is to provide about $200 million to help the Palestinian Authority shore up a budget shortfall and another $400 million to assist Palestinian institutional reforms and economic development. Wood said some of the $400 million might wind up aiding Gaza, but he said that would depend on the Palestinian Authority.

Some portion of the $900 million total U.S. pledge had already been budgeted for 2009, Wood said, adding that he could not immediately provide a breakdown.

Getting U.S. humanitarian aid quickly to Gaza is complicated by the U.S. refusal to funnel it through the Hamas militant movement that rules the area. The U.S. considers Hamas a terrorist organization. Wood said the U.S. aid that does not go directly to the Palestinian Authority would be funneled to Gaza through international organizations and agencies.

The secretary of state also carried hopes of finding a path toward an Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Clinton arrived at Sharm el-Sheik after an overnight flight from Washington and went quickly into a meeting with the Obama administration's Middle East peace envoy, George Mitchell, who is touring the region.

Clinton also will visit Israel and meet with Palestinian leaders in the West Bank, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Donors at the Sharm el-Sheik conference will be asked to fund a $2.8 billion reconstruction plan put together by Abbas' prime minister, Salam Fayyad, an internationally respected economist. Hamas, which does not recognize Israel's right to exist, was not invited.

Fayyad wants most of the money funneled through his West Bank-based government. He already administers huge sums of foreign aid — $7.7 billion for 2008-2010 — and has been sending $120 million to Gaza each month for welfare and salaries of Abbas' former civil servants. Other aid, such as for rebuilding homes, would go directly to the bank accounts of Gazans.

Hamas prepared its own 86-page Gaza reconstruction plan and sent copies to the Arab League. But even if bypassed by the donors, as is likely, Hamas would benefit from any aid that eases pressure on it to help the needy.

Israel's offensive to halt Hamas rocket fire from Gaza ended with a cease-fire Jan. 18.