The big story on the Palestinians today concerns the benjamins, or for my non-American readers the cold, hard cash. The Bush administration said today it would cut, suspend or shift up to $411 million in Palestinian aid over the next few years to deny aid to the terorrist Hamas movement in control of the Palestinian government.( And Fatah, of course, was not a terrorist `government' *snicker*)
The EU announced that it, too, was cutting off funds to the the Hamas-led government.
"The new Palestinian government must take responsibility for the consequences of its policies," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.
The United States will redirect about $100 million from canceled projects to humanitarian assistance such as food and medicine, a 57 percent increase, officials said.
Interstingly the United States is including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in that cutoff.
The Bush Administration andthe EU had hopes of Abbas leading the Pals into a peace settlement with Israel and a second Palestinian state. Of course, I could have told them that there was nonchance of that a long time ago...back when Abbas first took over, began putting his cronies on the Pal payroll nd refused to disarm terorrists. Now, the inmates are running the asylum.
The U.S. and EU humanitarian payments are not calculated to take on the Palestinian payroll, which supplies the bulk of Palestinian `employment'. Apparently gunmen and homicide bombers and the infrastructure Arafat created to support them need money to function..they won't just work for the promise of the 72 virgins.
Last year the Palestinians received $1.3 billion in overseas aid, out of a budget of $1.9 billion. Most of it, of course, either went to pay for terrorism used in the War Against the Jews or wound up in private accounts in Europe or the UAE.
The European Union's executive office cut off direct aid payments to the Palestinian government on Friday, stopping the next installment of some $36.9 million.
The EU could also decide at a meeting Monday to also stop their governments' bilateral aid to the Palestinians. Britain and the Netherlands have already done so, but Norway and Sweden have been talking about increasing their aid.
Saudi Arabia, the Arab League and Iran have pledged support to make up the deficit, but nobody has really delivered in full..what a surprise!
Hmmm.
Maybe..just maybe...if the `Palestinians' actually realized the consequences of their choices, for once, they might see the value in peace. Ya think?
In any event, a second `Palestinian' state (Jordan is the other one) is impossible and not economically viable unless it operates in close, friendly cooperation with Israel. And does anybody want to bet on that happening in the near future?
Nah. The Palestinians will continue to be the shock troops and the cannon fodder in the War Against the Jews, and the dupes of their Islamic brothers.
Brother, can you spare a few riyals or dinars for a suicide bomber belt or some ammo?
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