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Tuesday, November 21, 2006

A token Saudi gesture - a little too late

WAFA reports (in Arabic only) that Saudi Arabia is building 300 apartments in Rafah for Palestinian Arabs :
Saudi National Commission for Relief (of) Palestinian people today (said) it is building 300 housing units in the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. The Palestinian families affected, and under an agreement signed with the United Nations Development Program (Undp) for the construction of 600 housing units in Palestine, in order to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people due to Israeli aggression.
Later on we see the cost:
The Saudi National Commission for Relief Palestinian people. on the basis of the agreement signed with the United Nations Development Program to convert the first installment, which represents 30% of the total value of the project and amount (3.286.216) dollar.
Each unit is over 1000 square feet, so the Saudis can house hundreds of families at about $30,000 each.

This is all very nice.

Now, can someone explain why no Arab countries considered it necessary to build permanent housing for their beloved brethren in 1949, or 1956, or 1967?

Can someone explain why, with their billions of petrodollars, Saudi Arabia is now building only 300 units now?

Can someone explain why the second anniversary of Yasir Arafat's death is being celebrated when he stole billions of dollars, which at this rate could have built tens of thousands of permanent homes for his people?

Can someone explain why Suha Arafat was staying in a hotel in Paris at the rate of $16,000 a night, when for each two nights she could have built a new house?

Can someone explain why the Saudis are saying that they are now helping the Palestinian Arabs in the face of Israeli aggression - and why they didn't think they needed housing help before this?

Can someone explain why of the millions that are being smuggled into Gaza in suitcases, none of it is going to build houses - and most of it is going towards weapons?

Now, let's turn around the assumptions. Let's assume that instead of helping Palestinian Arabs, the other Muslim nations are more interested in destroying Israel. Part of that is accomplished by deliberately keeping Palestinian Arabs in dire straits so that they don't get too comfortable or too happy, so they wouldn't accept any compromises for peace. A small part is accomplished by paying token amounts to a very small number of the PalArabs, claiming that it was being done because of "Israeli aggression" even though their being homeless has nothing to do with any Israeli actions unless they are terrorists themselves. (Or perhaps these houses are truly meant for the terrorists who se homes were blown up in Israeli airstrikes or work accidents, and this way the Saudis can reward Palestinian Arabs who try to kill Jews.)

Does it all add up, now?