United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rejected on Thursday reports that the US will transfer money to a Palestinian Authority (PA) government in which members of Hamas serve. Appearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Secretary Clinton said there's no way that the US will fund Hamas. She stressed that such funding is not in keeping with the policy of President Barak Obama.
There have been reports that the Obama administration has softened the language of its budget request for aid to the PA in a way that would allow money to go there even if Hamas is represented in the government. She noted in her testimony before the committee that it does not appear likely that Hamas and Fatah will reach an agreement that will lead to a unity government. The secretary added that in recent talks, the PA said it was not comfortable with the idea of Hamas in the PA government.