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View Full Version : U.S. Suspends Work of Aid Groups in Gaza Strip.....



MMC
08-13-2011, 07:34 AM
http://news.yahoo.com/u-suspends-aid-groups-gaza-strip-005417174.html
Reuters – 11 hrs ago.....
GAZA (Reuters) - The United States has suspended operations of the aid organizations it funds in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip because the Islamist group had demanded confidential information about their work, a U.S. official told Reuters on Friday.
The official, who declined to be named, said Hamas had demanded access to files and records of NGOs, which would reveal financial and administrative information, details of staff members and information on beneficiaries.

He said that Hamas had shut down the International Medical Corps (IMC) an NGO and USAID partner organization, after its officials objected to "unwarranted audits."
Palestinian-based NGOs funded by the European Union have in the past also complained of Hamas meddling in their affairs.

Hamas administration official Taher al-Nono said an understanding had been reached which would allow independent auditing teams to inspect the files of NGOs, but he added that Hamas had the right to monitor their work in the territory

The U.S. official said some 600,000 Gazans -- about a third of the population of the coastal strip -- were receiving some $98 million worth of assistance from USAID projects in health, education, construction and infrastructure.....snip.

Think this might also have something to do with the Up and coming meeting with the UN where the Palestinians are requesting to be officially recognized? We know the UN cannot vote upon such. But there is no denying that they will get some airtime with all the media coverage. We have seen other articles pointing out that the US and Israel were attempting to get talks going despite the lack thereof for the last 3 yrs. All these NGO are connected with NFPS. It's clear that the US was giving close to 98 million to Palestine. Thoughts?