WASHINGTON, May 5 (Xinhua) -- The United States reacted coolly Friday on a French proposal of opening an escrow account for the Palestinians and said it will not provide money for the Hamas-led government.

    "Certainly we're going to be ready to listen, to see, to hear what the French, British and other representatives have to say about it," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said when asked about the Quartet meeting due in New York next week.

    "I'm not going to prejudge an outcome, but I will say that as a matter of law and principle, the United States doesn't provide money to a terrorist organization," McCormack said, referring the Hamas-led Palestinian government.

    To avoid a financial crisis in Palestine, French President Jacques Chirac proposed to create a World Bank account to send payments directly to 160,000 Palestinian civil servants, bypassing the Hamas-led Palestinian government. The United States has been cool to the suggestion.

    The United States has suspended contacts and aids to the Palestinian government and said Hamas will not be a peace partner unless it renounces violence and recognizes Israel. Enditem