tailieunhanh - U.S. Foreign Aid to the Palestinians: Jim Zanotti Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs

Once you’ve saved money for investing, consider carefully all your options and think about what diversification strategy makes sense for you. While the SEC cannot recommend any particular investment product, you should know that a vast array of invest- ment products exists—including stocks and stock mutual funds, corporate and municipal bonds, bond mutual funds, certificates of deposit, money market funds, and . Treasury securities. Diversification can’t guarantee that your investments won’t suffer if the market drops. But it can improve the chances that you won’t lose money, or that if you do, it won’t be as much as if you weren’t. | . Foreign Aid to the Palestinians Jim Zanotti Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs June 15 2012 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 RS22967 CRS Report for Congress------------- Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress . Foreign Aid to the Palestinians Summary Since the establishment of limited Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the mid-1990s the . government has committed over 4 billion in bilateral assistance to the Palestinians who are among the world s largest per capita recipients of international foreign aid. Successive Administrations have requested aid for the Palestinians to support at least three major . policy priorities of interest to Congress Combating neutralizing and preventing terrorism against Israel from the Islamist group Hamas and other militant organizations. Creating a virtuous cycle of stability and prosperity in the West Bank that inclines Palestinians toward peaceful coexistence with Israel and prepares them for self-governance. Meeting humanitarian needs and preventing further destabilization particularly in the Gaza Strip. Since June 2007 these . policy priorities have crystallized around the factional and geographical split between the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority PA in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In April 2012 the Obama Administration obligated all remaining FY2011 bilateral assistance for the Palestinians. Obligation had been delayed for several months due to informal congressional holds by some . lawmakers. The holds were largely a response to Palestinian pursuit in late 2011 of United Nations-related initiatives aimed at increasing international recognition of Palestinian statehood outside of negotiations with Israel. A hold remained on a portion of the FY2011 assistance when the Administration obligated it. Additionally various agreements since May 2011 between Fatah and Hamas leaders regarding a possible consensus PA government have raised concerns among