'US to pledge over $900m for Gaza aid'
Associated Press , THE JERUSALEM POST Feb. 24, 2009
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The United States will likely donate more than $900 million for the
reconstruction of Gaza, a US official said Monday, as US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton prepared to attend a donors conference for the war-ravaged
territory next week.

Israeli and Palestinian officials said earlier Monday that Clinton will
visit Israel and the West Bank during the first week of March for her first
trip to the region as America's top diplomat.

Clinton said during her Asia trip this month that she would attend an
international donors conference in Egypt on March 2 to discuss
reconstruction in Gaza.

She provided no other details, but a US official in the United States said
Monday that the Obama administration's donation will likely top $900 million
in humanitarian and rebuilding aid to the Palestinian Authority to help Gaza
recover from Israel's offensive against Hamas last month.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the donation had
not received final approval, said the exact amount was still to be
determined.

The official added that the aid would not go to Hamas. The US recognizes the
West Bank-based government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and has no
formal contacts with the Islamic militant group Hamas, which runs a separate
Palestinian administration in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli officials, meanwhile, said Clinton will arrive in Israel on
March 2 for meetings with the country's top leaders. Israel is currently
ruled by a caretaker government as Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu
cobbles together a new coalition.

The Israeli officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the visit had
not been announced by the State Department, which has not released Clinton's
schedule for next week.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior aide to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud
Abbas, said Clinton also would visit the West Bank during her stay.