The United States yesterday has lifted its embargo on direct aid to the Palestinian government in an effort to support Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah’s struggle against Hamas. Last week Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip. Abbas responded by dismissing the democratically elected Hamas-led government and formed a new cabinet led by a prime minister who has the backing of Israel and the United States.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice: “Hamas has made its choice. It has sought to attempt to extinguish democratic debate with violence and to impose its extremist agenda on the Palestinian people in Gaza. Now responsible Palestinians are making their choice, and it is the duty of the international community to support those Palestinians who wish to build a better life and a future of peace.”

Today Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet with President Bush in Washington to discuss the situation. Olmert has said Israel recognizes Abbas’ new government.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert: “I promised the Palestinians that our government would consider the new Palestinian government free of any Hamas people as a genuine partner. We will cooperate with this government. We will defreeze monies that we kept under our control because we didn’t want these monies to be taken by Hamas in order to be used for a terrorist action.”

Olmert is also expected to urge President Bush to help isolate the Gaza Strip. But humanitarian groups have warned Israel not to cut off Gaza. This is Mazen Al-Aloul, the head of a maternity ward at the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.

Mazen Al-Aloul: “Separate the politics and humanitarian cases. This is a hospital, and we have something like one million and half citizens that are treated in the hospital, and they need all sorts of medicine. Some have cancer, others have kidney problems, and we rely a lot on electric devices, and cutting the power off will be a disaster for the patients, like cutting their lives off.”