Report about aid cut denied

Manama: Bahrain's Minister of Foreign Affairs Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa has denied a newspaper report claiming that Bahrain would not donate money to a Hamas-led Palestinian government.

"We have denied it and we will deny it again. The 10 million Bahraini dinars (about Dh97 million) we have pledged to give to the Palestinians will be delivered as soon as we finish the paper work," Shaikh Khalid on Tuesday told the Council of Representatives. "Bahrain remains committed to the decision made in Khartoum to offer financial assistance, and we have reiterated this pledge to the senior Palestinian officials who visited Bahrain over the last few weeks," he said.

Action

The minister was pressed by MPs from Al Menbar Islamist Society to take action against Bahrain's ambassador to the US, Naser Al Belooshi, for allegedly telling a private reception hosted by the American Jewish Committee last month in Palm Beach, Florida that Bahrain would not offer money to the Palestinians under Hamas's leadership.

"We are concerned about cutting aid to the Palestinians, but we do not want terrorism to prosper. We would like Hamas to sit with Israeli officials and negotiate peace," Al Belooshi was quoted by a US newspaper as saying.

The remarks, re-printed in the local press, sparked a strong condemnation from Islamist MPs.