Israel to hand Palestinians' money to Abbas

This is kind of Israel. They have been stealing money from and starving the Palestinians since Hamas was elected and now they are going to hand the money over to Abbas to help with his coup:

Israel is considering handing over millions of dollars in withheld Palestinian tax funds to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a move that could bolster him ahead of elections over his Hamas rivals, sources said on Wednesday.

Western diplomats and Palestinian sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the proposal under consideration called for releasing the tax money to Abbas in stages on the condition that it will bypass the Hamas-led government.

Transferring the funds would mark a shift in Israeli policy, and could allow the moderate Abbas to make payments to Palestinian civil servants, who have not received their full salaries since Hamas came to power in March.

Two sources said Israel was prepared in principle to transfer tax funds directly to Abbas once several technical and timing issues were addressed.

"No final decision has been made," an Israeli official said.

Olmert's office declined to comment on Israel's plans for the funds, which total about US$500 million.

"We have not been officially informed. We don't know how much the sum would be," top Abbas aide Rafiq Husseini said.

Another senior Abbas aide, Saeb Erekat, said Israel would not transfer the money directly to Abbas, but use it to pay Palestinian bills to Israeli utilities as it has in the past.

From Taipei Times.