President Bush, speaking on CBS News, said "aid packages won't go forward" for the Palestinian Authority if Hamas does not renounce terrorism or its commitment to destroy Israel. "That's their decision to make," Bush said. "But we won't be providing help to a government that wants to destroy our ally and friend."
The U.S. has funded the Palestinian Authority to the tune of approximately $400 million a year.
The European Union, too, has indicated that it would not support Hamas, which it blacklisted in stages: in 2001 it blacklisted Hamas' armed wing, and in 2003 - its political wing. In 2005, the EU sent nearly $590 million to PA-controlled areas, roughly a fifth of the PA's estimated GDP.
However, it is not clear whether the strong stance currently expressed by the EU and US will last for long. In order not to cause a political crisis in the Middle East and possibly a humanitarian financial crisis in the PA areas, it could very well be that the West will find ways to help the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority.
Israel's government held its weekly Cabinet meeting today, the first since the surprise Hamas victory in the Palestinian Authority elections. However, no decision was taken to cancel this week's scheduled transfer of tax funds to the Palestinian Authority.
Minister Tzachi HaNegbi said, "Israel will not conduct any negotiations with a PA government led by Hamas or in which Hamas is a member." Regarding the transfer of the tax funds to the PA, however, he said it's too early to decide: "We must wait and see how the Palestinian Authority stabilizes."
Ex-Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom of the Likud said that the government's apparent intention to forward tens of millions of shekels to the PA this week is "totally scandalous. Israel is cutting of the branch on which it sits. While the U.S. and the EU say clearly that they won't fund a Hamas government, we ourselves haven't yet decided."
Acting PM Olmert said that he and Foreign Minister Tzippy Livny had talked to a long list of world leaders, and "they all supported us and the positions that we expressed, namely that unless Hamas clearly abandons terrorism, annuls its charter, and fully recognizes Israel and the PA's prior commitments, Israel will not have any contacts with the Palestinian Authority."
Minister Livny said that Israel must "switch diskettes and must begin relating immediately to the Hamas victory... We have to make sure that the world does not recognize Hamas and does not talk with it in some guise or another."
One of these "guises" is something that Israel will have trouble protesting: transferring funds not directly to a Hamas government, but to Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, who remains PA Chairman.
United States law prohibits it from funding an entity on its list of outlawed terror organization, such as Hamas. On the other hand, it is clear to all that without international aid, the PA will collapse. Virtually all of the PA's annual budget of $1.3 billion comes from the international community, and though Ismail Haniyeh - the #1 Hamas candidate who is apparently headed for the Prime Minister's chair - says that sources for the funding can be found in the Arab world, Arab funding is unlikely to be sufficient.
The Palestinian Authority is essentially bankrupt, with a deficit of $69 million for January alone. Its immediate problem is how to pay the salaries of its 130,000 employees - many of whom are armed Fatah members who might respond with violence if they are not paid.
The U.S. has funded the Palestinian Authority to the tune of approximately $400 million a year.
The European Union, too, has indicated that it would not support Hamas, which it blacklisted in stages: in 2001 it blacklisted Hamas' armed wing, and in 2003 - its political wing. In 2005, the EU sent nearly $590 million to PA-controlled areas, roughly a fifth of the PA's estimated GDP.
However, it is not clear whether the strong stance currently expressed by the EU and US will last for long. In order not to cause a political crisis in the Middle East and possibly a humanitarian financial crisis in the PA areas, it could very well be that the West will find ways to help the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority.
Israel's government held its weekly Cabinet meeting today, the first since the surprise Hamas victory in the Palestinian Authority elections. However, no decision was taken to cancel this week's scheduled transfer of tax funds to the Palestinian Authority.
Minister Tzachi HaNegbi said, "Israel will not conduct any negotiations with a PA government led by Hamas or in which Hamas is a member." Regarding the transfer of the tax funds to the PA, however, he said it's too early to decide: "We must wait and see how the Palestinian Authority stabilizes."
Ex-Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom of the Likud said that the government's apparent intention to forward tens of millions of shekels to the PA this week is "totally scandalous. Israel is cutting of the branch on which it sits. While the U.S. and the EU say clearly that they won't fund a Hamas government, we ourselves haven't yet decided."
Acting PM Olmert said that he and Foreign Minister Tzippy Livny had talked to a long list of world leaders, and "they all supported us and the positions that we expressed, namely that unless Hamas clearly abandons terrorism, annuls its charter, and fully recognizes Israel and the PA's prior commitments, Israel will not have any contacts with the Palestinian Authority."
Minister Livny said that Israel must "switch diskettes and must begin relating immediately to the Hamas victory... We have to make sure that the world does not recognize Hamas and does not talk with it in some guise or another."
One of these "guises" is something that Israel will have trouble protesting: transferring funds not directly to a Hamas government, but to Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, who remains PA Chairman.
United States law prohibits it from funding an entity on its list of outlawed terror organization, such as Hamas. On the other hand, it is clear to all that without international aid, the PA will collapse. Virtually all of the PA's annual budget of $1.3 billion comes from the international community, and though Ismail Haniyeh - the #1 Hamas candidate who is apparently headed for the Prime Minister's chair - says that sources for the funding can be found in the Arab world, Arab funding is unlikely to be sufficient.
The Palestinian Authority is essentially bankrupt, with a deficit of $69 million for January alone. Its immediate problem is how to pay the salaries of its 130,000 employees - many of whom are armed Fatah members who might respond with violence if they are not paid.