U.S. Will Cut Aid to PA if they Bid for Statehood

Rep says the U.S. will also veto the resolution to recognize an independent Palestinian state using 1967 borders.

The U.S. Counsul General in Jerusalem has announced that if the Palestinian Authority proceeds with its bid at the UN in September, it will stop giving aid to the Palestinians (the US currently spends an estimated $513 million annually in the West Bank and Gaza alone). The Palestinian Authority announced earlier this year it would bid for the recognition of independent Palestinian statehood and full member status at the United Nations in a move condemned by both Israel and Hamas. The U.S. official told Saeb Erekat the U.S. would also use its Security Council veto and insisted that direct negotiations with Israel were the only appropriate route to a two-state solution. Should the U.S. veto the Security Council motion, Palestinians could still ask the General Assembly to vote on it but it would require a two-thirds majority to pass.