Condolezza Rice says Hamas, not Israel, is to blame for situation in Gaza

       US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday militant Palestinians, not Israel, are to blame for deteriorating conditions in the sealed-off Gaza Strip, as the United States announced it intends to donate about $550 million to the impoverished Palestinians this year. The US pledge would include $150 million in direct aid to the Palestinian government in the West Bank that, despite a history of corruption, is the US hope for new peace talks with Israel that US President George W. Bush launched last month in Annapolis, Maryland. There is nothing for the rival Hamas leadership in Gaza, although US officials are quick to say that food and medical aid is up. The pledge was announced as Rice traveled to Paris for an international donors conference for the Palestinians on Monday. US pledges of humanitarian relief for Gaza's 1.5 million people may be hollow unless Israel and Egypt ease border restrictions that are preventing some medical supplies and all but basic food and no-frills goods from getting in. Relief workers say some aid promised this year was blocked. "The responsibility for what is happening in Gaza should be put directly on the shoulders of Hamas," Rice said as she flew to Paris.(10,08)