U.S. aid to Palestinians will be halted if Hamas does not renounce terror, says U.S. diplomat

A senior U.S. diplomat in Jerusalem said Friday that the United States would halt its aid to Palestinians should a Hamas-led government come to power and not renounce terror.

Jacob Walles, the U.S. consul-general in Jerusalem, said the U.S. would not deliver assistance to a terror organization, members of a terror organization or ministries controlled by a terror organization, reported AP.

The U.S. gave the Palestinian Authority US$400 million in direct aid last year and several million more through U.N. charities, Walles said. Some of the money was handed directly to Palestinian ministries. "I don't see how we would do that if those ministries were controlled by Hamas," he said.