SAUDI MONEY FLOWS TO HAMAS, WITH U.S. BLESSING

Palestinian Finance Minister Hails New Saudi Cash - Alastair Macdonald (Reuters)
A package of $250 million of Saudi money - equivalent to some six weeks of the PA's basic funding needs - will start arriving soon, Finance Minister Salam Fayyad said on Tuesday. While the Western powers and Israel still refuse to help Hamas as long as it does not renounce violence or recognize Israel, Fayyad won a pledge from the U.S. to ease technical difficulties for those donors still making payments. A key element was an assurance from Washington to banks that they would not be penalized for making transfers to an account run by the Palestine Liberation Organization, run by Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah.