Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has wrapped up her visit to Israel and the Occupied Territories. On Thursday, Rice met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah to show support for the Fatah leader in his power struggle with Hamas. The two signed a deal to release the first $10 million of $80 million in frozen U.S. aid. The agreement came days after the U.S. announced a 25 percent increase in military aid to Israel — to $3 billion. Rice said the Bush administration supports democracy in the Middle East but defended its decision to boycott Palestinians for electing Hamas. Rice said: “We believe strongly in the right of people to express themselves and their desires, in elections,” but added, “you have the obligation to govern responsibly.” Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar dismissed Rice’s visit as a PR stunt.

Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar: “This visit comes as a public relations stunt to help the suffering credibility of (Mahmoud Abbas) and also the credibility of the weak Israeli government. This is an attempt to give the impression that something might happen for the Palestinian people from these visits. The money that is allocated using these methods have all been against the Palestinian well-being and has harmed whoever took it. We say that the Palestinian people have waited for a long time from this leadership and in return did not even get the minimum.”