Palestinian Authority Says US to Increase Aid to $440

The United States will increase its aid to the Palestinian Authority by $14 million in 2014, bringing the American contributions to Mahmoud Abbas’ regime to $440 million, according to Maen Rashid Areikat, the PA’s chief representative in Washington.

He added that the funds will be funneled through United States Agency for International Development (USAID) except for $70 million that will be given directly to the Palestinian Authority.

The announcement came on the eve of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s return to Israel to pressure both the Palestinian Authority and Israel to make progress in discussions for establishing the Palestinian Authority as a country. Kerry brings with him a suitcase full of sticks and carrots to force both sides to cooperate with him, and financial aid is one of the biggest carrots on which he counting to keep Abbas munching and happy.