US President George W. Bush announced on Thursday that the United States will provide 50 million US dollars in aid for the Palestinian authority.

Bush made the announcement in the White House Rose Garden, standing alongside Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Bush praised Abbas for rejecting violence, and for working for democratic reform. And he said the election of Abbas is "a tribute to the power and appeal of democracy."

It is the first time a Palestinian president has been invited to the White House since the late Yasser Arafat went there in January 2001.

Source: Xinhua