No Money For Hamas

That was the message delivered this week to the administration from a
virtually unanimous United States Congress, which passed a resolution
offered by Senator John Thune of South Dakota stating that no "United
States
assistance" (your tax dollars) should be provided to the Palestinian
Authority if it is controlled by any political party that calls for the
destruction of Israel, as Hamas does. Senator Thune's resolution was
approved unanimously in the Senate and passed last night in the House
418-to-1. (Rep. Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii was the lone "No" vote.)
While
Senator Thune's resolution would allow Hamas to receive funding if it
recognized Israel's right to exist, most Americans take a much stronger
stand. According to the Gallup poll I quoted yesterday, only 30% of
Americans would approve of aid to the Palestinian Authority under a
"rehabilitated" Hamas leadership. Fifty-seven percent of Americans,
however,
oppose giving any aid at all so long as Hamas remains in power! Among the
other findings of this poll, "Republicans (77%) are significantly more
likely to sympathize with the Israelis than are Democrats (50%) or
Independents (50%)."