A Palestinian official on Monday rejected any possible U.S. reduction of aid if the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) sought an international recognition of independence.
The U.S. threats against the Palestinians "reflect a complete U. S. bias to the Israeli policies and arrogance in dealing with the Palestinians and their legitimate rights," said Hanan Ashrawi, a member of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee.
A U.S. congresswoman said that the "unilateral" declaration of the Palestinian state will affect the U.S. aid to the PNA. "That would be a very, very bad thing to do," said Granger, chairwoman of the House appropriations subcommittee overseeing foreign aid, in an interview with Israel's Jerusalem Post newspaper.
Ashrawi told Voice of Palestine that some U.S. senators "adopt the rightist, extremist position of Israel" regarding the Palestinian plan to seek the recognition from the UN General Assembly in September.
The Palestinians want the recognition as a response to the failure of U.S.-brokered peace negotiations with Israel. The negotiations stopped last year when Israel resumed settlement construction in the West Bank.
Ashrawi, meanwhile, stressed that Israel must withdraw from all Palestinian lands it has occupied in 1967, including the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians consider a future capital.
In this regard, she played down a plan by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu based on withdrawing forces from the West Bank on several phases.
"This is part of the peace process' obligations," she said about the plan, adding that the withdrawals "are being showed as a new initiative and concession from Netanyahu to overcome international isolation his government faces."
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