Restrictions Imposed On Aid to Palestinians --- and gives $50M of it to the Israelis

Restrictions Imposed On Aid to Palestinians: "Bill Avoids Directing Funds to Authority | By Glenn Kessler | Washington Post Staff Writer | Thursday, May 5, 2005; Page A16

Congress imposed the tight restrictions on aid to the Palestinians that President Bush had announced with fanfare in his State of the Union address, possibly dealing a blow to U.S. efforts to support new Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

... But the fine print of the document gives $50 million of that money directly to Israel to build terminals for people and goods at checkpoints surrounding Palestinian areas. Another $2 million for Palestinian health care will be provided to Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, while the allocation of the rest of the money is tightly prescribed. ...