Something To Think About Before the NEXT Vote

[Annie]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060421/wl_mideast_afp/mideastpalestinianabbas

Abbas warns of catastrophe unless donors send funds his way

Fri Apr 21, 7:40 AM ET

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas has warned of catastrophe in the face of deep fiscal crisis, recommending that donors ship cash directly to his office to bypass the Hamas government.

"There will be catastrophe if the international boycott of the government and the financial crisis carries on. What can I do if we are deprived of aid and people go hungry? I don't have many options," Abbas said Thursday.

The long-standing Palestinian Authority financial crisis has been aggravated since the Hamas-led cabinet was sworn in. The coffers are empty and government salaries have gone unpaid, affecting around a quarter of the population.

Boycotted by the European Union, which once supplied 607 million dollars a year, and the United States, the Authority has also been hammered by Israel's decision to withhold tens of millions of dollars in customs duties.

In order to allow foreign aid money to again flow, Abbas suggested donors ship their funds through other channels, namely through his office, to bypass Hamas which is boycotted by the West as a terrorist organisation.

"In my eyes, it is not justified to stop aid. If they do not recognise the government, there are other means of transferring it. What is essential is that it reaches the Palestinian people and that citizens do not suffer," he said.

"We must find a way to get this money and the Palestinian Authority presidency can be responsible," he said.

Abbas said he had already lobbied the Americans and Europeans to this end and was awaiting their response.

"Now we want a solution to let the money reach the people. As I told them it can come through the presidency. This is a suggestion, we put it before the Americans and the Europeans.

He underlined the Palestinian Authority's pressing need for money with around 164,700 civil servants yet to receive their March salaries.

"We don't want to waste time on the reasons why the money is not reaching the government while people are dying. Let's be practical: the salaries, or at least part of the salaries, must be paid as quickly as possible," he said.

In terms of policy, he said he was "pushing" Hamas, which advocates armed struggle and does not recognise Israel's right to exist, to adopt a more moderate line in a bid to ease damaging international isolation.

"I have my policy and I am pushing them (the Hamas government) to adopt such moderate policy to survive and deliver, otherwise they will be isolated and who will suffer? The people will suffer," he said.

"If they do not change their positions they will be isolated internationally and locally," he added.

Abbas also expressed hope that Israel's incoming government under prime minister designate Ehud Olmert would "release the money owned to the Palestinian people" and enter into "serious dialogue" with the Palestinians.

In late February, Olmert's cabinet decided to freeze the transfer of around 60 million dollars a month in customs duties and taxes on goods that transit to the Palestinian territories through Israel.

Abbas also flatly denied there was any power struggle between him and the cabinet of Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya, despite soaring tensions between his former ruling Fatah party and the Islamists.

Instead he confined his comments to a certain "confusion" given the new administration's inexperience.

"The government will enjoy all the prerogatives accorded by law and I will assume all those of the presidency," Abbas said.

He said his recent decision to deploy the presidential guard to the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt was taken after the European Union threatened to withdraw its observers should Hamas be responsible.

"That would have closed the only window for the Gaza Strip. I gave the prime minister the choice of being responsible or letting the presidency keep the terminal open and he said 'keep things like that for the moment'".

 

[Denton]

The Arab Palestinian people aren't being starved out by the world, humanitarian aid is not being stopped, and neither is food. At least, no food is being stopped by the Israelis.

Let's think about this rationally, shall we? The Islamic Resistance Movement, a notorious terrorist organization that refuses to recognize Israel or its right to be, that refuses to renounce violence against Israeli citizens and is responsbile for scores of Israeli deaths, has been elected to lead the Arab Palestinian people, and was elected by the people. Even after Israel removed itself from Gaza, leaving behind beautiful greenhouses (Bill Gates coughed up some serious jack for those houses for the Arabs, only to see the Arabs vandalize and damage them instead of feeding themselves with them) as well as other things, it is clear that the only interest is using it as a place from which to strike Israel with Quassam rockets. By the way, Katyusha rockets are now being smuggled into Gaza, making it possible to strike even deeper into Israeli land. Meanwhile, Israel is not in any way hindering the movement of food into Gaza.

The tranferring of international money will not feed the Paelstinian Arabs, what it will do is fund a terrorist organization that has the stated goal of destroying Israel. What would do the Palestinian people the most benefit? Their government renounce violence, drop their war against Israel, and allow the Palestinian people to become a part of the world, rather than continuing to use the young as walking bombs

 

[Annie]

The Arab Palestinian people aren't being starved out by the world, humanitarian aid is not being stopped, and neither is food. At least, no food is being stopped by the Israelis.

Let's think about this rationally, shall we? The Islamic Resistance Movement, a notorious terrorist organization that refuses to recognize Israel or its right to be, that refuses to renounce violence against Israeli citizens and is responsbile for scores of Israeli deaths, has been elected to lead the Arab Palestinian people, and was elected by the people. Even after Israel removed itself from Gaza, leaving behind beautiful greenhouses (Bill Gates coughed up some serious jack for those houses for the Arabs, only to see the Arabs vandalize and damage them instead of feeding themselves with them) as well as other things, it is clear that the only interest is using it as a place from which to strike Israel with Quassam rockets. By the way, Katyusha rockets are now being smuggled into Gaza, making it possible to strike even deeper into Israeli land. Meanwhile, Israel is not in any way hindering the movement of food into Gaza.

The tranferring of international money will not feed the Paelstinian Arabs, what it will do is fund a terrorist organization that has the stated goal of destroying Israel. What would do the Palestinian people the most benefit? Their government renounce violence, drop their war against Israel, and allow the Palestinian people to become a part of the world, rather than continuing to use the young as walking bombs

I meant the next Palestinian vote.

 

[Denton]

LOL, that's fine, Kat, I wasn't arguing at you or anything, the yahoo story merely caused my brain to go into auto rhetoric mode,that's all.

It happens with me from time to time. :duh3: