News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) The Bush administration is asking Congress for another $400 million for the cash-poor Palestinian Authority (PA), according to Jacob Walles of the American consulate in Jerusalem. He told reporters Monday that the PA, which has received billions of dollars in international aid the past few years, needs money to cover budget deficits, to help private projects and to fund security.

Previous American aid has filtered to Hamas despite stipulations barring the terrorist organization from using the money. Hamas employees in Gaza have been paid with PA money, and its terrorists have boasted that it routinely receives PA weapons that were bought with American funding.