Money for nothing

Well, the US and the EU caved. The United States bowed to pressure from its allies Tuesday and agreed to support a new program to temporarily funnel additional aid directly to the Palestinian people. Temporary is never temporary when it comes to welfare. Any money going to Palestinian Arabs who voted for terrorists gives the terrorists more money to buy bombs and missiles. A surprise statement by Mideast peacemakers, issued after a day of closed-door diplomatic meetings, did not say precisely how much or what kind of aid they would provide. But the agreement seemed to underscore a concern that months of withholding most aid from the Palestinians, part of an effort to pressure the new Hamas-led government toward a more accommodating stance with Israel, was harming the Palestinian people. The newspapers played their part - writing up stories about how Palestinian Arabs can't buy gas and aren't getting paid and are holding signs saying "hungry." When in fact, the Palestinian Arabs are in better shape than a good percentage of the world's people economically. The United States and European Union have cut off direct aid to the Palestinian government while pledging to help meet the crushing humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people through charities and other means. An entire nation on welfare, living it up and terrorizing the world on the world's dime. No real industry, no forward thinking, no creativity except for ways to build new rockets and tunnels. Sure, let's give them aid. Speaking Wednesday in Ramallah on the West Bank, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh slammed the United States and its Western allies for demands on his government, but did not reject the temporary program. The world should be more understanding that when they decide to give Arabs millions of dollars, they will get insulted in response. Saying "thank you" would violate his cultural norms, and we need to be sensitive to those. "The Quartet brings from time to time conditions to force the government to concede the rights and recognize the legality of the occupation," Ismail Haniyeh said. "I believe the government will remain faithful to the Palestinian rights and will keep seeking the equation that protects the Palestinian people. The financial crisis has never been a factor dividing the Palestinians. It will be a factor that unites them," he told reporters. Of course, just a few days ago Palestinian Arabs started protesting Hamas because of their not getting any money. The Quartet cannot abide Arab protests against other Arabs, only against Denmark and other countries that offend Arabs. Overseas donations, mostly from Europe, have long sustained the cash-strapped and bloated Palestinian government. Isn't it interesting that everyone knows the government is "bloated" but no one dares suggest that the terror supporters slash, say, 75,000 jobs from their payroll? Nope, the donors do not have any say in such matters. The new fund is supposed to administer only money for basic human needs. But both European and U.S. diplomats said that at some point it might be used to pay salaries for urgently needed doctors or teachers or for other services that the Hamas government otherwise would be expected to provide. Ah yes, teachers who teach that Palestine is a country that extends from the Jordan to the Mediterranean, and it will be Jew-free, inshallah. Frustrations rose to the surface over the weekend, when hundreds of Palestinians staged strikes and demonstrations in the West Bank and Gaza to demand payment, the first public signs of discontent with Hamas' handling of the situation. So at the exact time that it looks like the sanctions might have a positive effect in weakening the terror group Hamas, what does the West do? European governments in particular have been alarmed at the worsening plight for unemployed Palestinians and concerned that charities and U.N. agencies could not meet the demand for services or handle the amount of money that might be needed, diplomats said. They pressed the United States to agree to the new humanitarian fund, even though that kind of assistance may be an indirect benefit to Hamas. The United States agreed on condition the fund be temporary and limited to programs that meet basic needs, a senior State Department official said "It would be against our values to let people starve," said Marc Otte, the EU's special envoy for the Mideast. Let's see - the Palestinian Arabs have farms, crops, livestock, poultry, fruit trees, and even some greenhouses that are still intact after Israel abandoned them. Who, exactly, is in danger of starvation? And if a few would go hungry, why are Palestinian Arab terror supporters more deserving of food than the millions of truly starving people worldwide? The entire exercise of withholding money was a sham, with the Eurabians so eager to strengthen those who celebrate when Westerners die. This is humanitarian aid; this is where limited money should go, according to the dhimmis that are in reality trying so hard to make sure that their supply of oil never gets disrupted. And if hundreds of Jews get blown up in the meanwhile, no biggie.