SAUDI ARABIA REFUSES TO CUT AID TO HAMAS

Saudis won’t sign on to U.S. isolation of Hamas (MSNBC)

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia refused Wednesday to join an American effort to deny foreign aid to a Palestinian government led by Hamas, the second Arab ally in two days to rebuff Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. “We wish not to link the international aid to the Palestinian people to considerations other than their dire humanitarian needs,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said through a translator.  Rice sat at Saud’s side as he spoke, as she had stood by on Tuesday when Saud’s Egyptian counterpart said it was premature to cut off aid to a Hamas-led government.