Haniyeh rejects 'politically tainted' US cash

Gaza premier Ismail Haniyeh on Friday slammed a US plan to boost the Palestinian economy as an attempt to sideline unresolved political issues. US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is leading a push to restart the peace process, on Sunday unveiled a plan to boost the economy by attracting $4 billion in private investment. "The billions that flow from the American administration come in exchange for political concessions, normalization with the enemy, land swaps, giving up the right to return and the attempt to disguise the reality of the people and the land," Haniyeh said after Friday prayers in Gaza City. "They want Palestinians to sell their rights in exchange for their daily bread," the Hamas prime minister added. "They want (Palestinians) to forget the sacrifice of martyrs and prisoners for what is called economic peace and for politically tainted money." The US proposal also met a cool response from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Mohammad Mustafa, economic adviser to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, said Monday that the PA would not offer political concessions "in exchange for economic benefits." "We will not accept that the economy is the primary and sole component," Mustafa said in a statement. "We wish it to be part of a political framework that will ensure the creation of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with east Jerusalem its capital and the rights of refugees and a reference to a political solution -- these are the priorities," the text read. "President Mahmoud Abbas calls on investors to come to Palestine, especially taking into account the fact that Palestine is a positive investment experience in many different areas," said Mustafa. Kerry has charged Tony Blair, the Quartet's special envoy to the Middle East, with drawing up the details of the initiative, which was announced at the closing session of the World Economic Forum in Jordan. A statement from Blair's office said it was "analyzing the potential of various sectors of the Palestinian economy and identifying measures that could be taken to spur transformative economic growth". It said the goal was to boost "GDP by 50 percent within three years and reduce unemployment from 22 percent to single-digit figures". However, Blair's office stressed that "the plan will complement, support and run in parallel with a renewed political process, and is not intended to replace that political process."