importance of Israeli recognition of statehood. M. head Mahmoud 'Abbas, on the other hand, more frequently speaks of plans for declaring a state. Ghassan Khatib, director of the Government Media Center, told The Media Line on Thursday that there are no plans for a unilateral declaration of statehood. Both

assistance, the majority of which was supposed to come from USAID. "We're hopeful that the rest of the money will come back, but we're not sure," Ghassan Khatib, spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, told me. "This money is going mainly to development and humanitarian projects. There is no justified reas