U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will pledge $900 million for the Palestinians at a donors' conference in Egypt, but only a third of that is directed for Gaza Strip, a U.S. official said on Sunday. According to Reuters, State Department spokesman Robert Wood said the pledge at Monday's conference amounted to $300 million to meet "urgent" humanitarian needs in Gaza and would be funnelled through U.N. and other organizations.
"Hamas is not getting any of this money," Wood told reporters.
About $200 million of the U.S. pledge would help cover budget shortfalls of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the remainder was for economic reforms, security and private sector projects run by the PA, conveyed Wood.
Monday's event is aimed at raising funds to help Gaza after the war, but Obama administration also wants it to bolster President Mahmoud Abbas' Palestinian Authority. "We have to shore up the Palestinian Authority," said Wood.
