US to resume aid to Palestinians under Abbas-Rice

WASHINGTON, June 18 (Reuters) The United States will resume direct aid to the Palestinian government of President Mahmoud Abbas, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today, following Abbas' formation of an emergency cabinet.

The United States would ''resume full assistance to the Palestinian government and normal government to government contacts,'' Rice said of the decision, which followed days of US statements of support for the moderate Abbas after Hamas militants seized control of the Gaza Strip last week.

Abbas' Fatah party has been accused in the past of corruption.

Rice said the new Palestinian government must continue to implement reforms but she was confident the new prime minister, Salam Fayyad, who has a reputation for integrity, would institute reliable controls and ensure the aid is used for the good of the Palestinian people.

In a news conference, Rice insisted the United States would not abandon Palestinians living in Gaza, but stopped short of endorsing a move by Abbas' government to reassert control there.

''We're going to support the course that they (the Palestinian officials) develop and that they outline,'' she said, stressing that it is a ''fast moving situation'' and Palestinian leaders first must focus on forming a government and obtaining needed financial resources.

The quartet of West Asia peace negotiators, which includes the United States, imposed the aid ban last year after Hamas defeated Fatah in parliamentary elections. The United States, the European Union and Israel consider Hamas a terrorist group.

Reuters SG DB2347