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Western Donors Weigh Billions for Palestinians
(Los Angeles Times) Josh Meyer - Top U.S. and European officials met with the new Palestinian leadership in London to consider $4.5 billion or more in new aid that they hope will bolster the Palestinian government. Pledging money may prove to be the easy part. The larger challenge will be avoiding the corruption that drained the life out of aid programs during Arafat's long tenure. "Things haven't changed as much as they need to change, and it is going to be very difficult," said Danielle Pletka of the American Enterprise Institute. The PA has received billions of dollars for schools, hospitals, roads and other basic needs in the last decade, one of the most expensive development programs ever on a per-capita basis. But millions of dollars disappeared. Last year Congress stipulated that outside auditors must be able to monitor how the money was used. But a few months ago, as Congress considered a request for another $20 million, aides said they learned that U.S. auditors were not permitted to enter the building where they thought the records were.