[20071009]RS22370_美国对巴勒斯坦人的对外援助.pdf

Order Code RS22370Updated October 9, 2007U.S. Foreign Aid to the PalestiniansPaul MorroSpecialist in Middle Eastern AffairsForeign Affairs, Defense, and Trade DivisionSummaryIn June 2007, the United States and the European Union (EU) resumed assistanceto the Palestinian Authority (PA) after President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah partyreasserted control over the PA in the West Bank. For the previous 14 months, theUnited States and the EU had imposed an aid embargo on the PA because it wascontrolled by Hamas, a U.S. State Department-designated Foreign TerroristOrganization. During that period, humanitarian and some other forms of assistancecontinued to flow to the Palestinian people through international and non-governmentalorganizations. With the resumption of U.S. assistance, Bush Administration officialshave said they hope to strengthen Abbas and further isolate Hamas, which remains incontrol of the Gaza Strip. In the meantime, the humanitarian situation for manyPalestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza continues to deteriorate. The Palestiniansare the largest per capita recipients of foreign aid worldwide and, with a shatteredeconomy, are mostly dependent on external support t