PrintMarch 31, 2007
He forgot a few things
The "well-respected" new Palestinian Finance Minister pens an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, and lays into Israel, calling for end to sanctions. Somehow he forgot to mention that many millions of financial aid that was supposed to go to Abbas for humanitarian aid went to Hamas to support terror. He also forgot to mention that millions of dollars worth of buildings and greenhouses in Gaza were given to the Palestinians, who promptly destroyed them when Israel disengaged from Gaza. He also forgot to mention that synagogues and other buildings have been turned into weapons arsenals and training grounds for Hamas terror attacks. Needless to say, he also holds Palestinians blameless for their own self-imposed troubles.
Nor does he mention that the Palestinians are actually receiving more foreign aid than ever before, an estimated $1.2 billion in 2006, over 10% more than in 2005, most of it humanitarian relief directed towards individuals. He neglects to mention that under his watch, the "public sector" - i.e, employees of the Palestinian government soared to over 165,000 people, double what it was in 2000. More importantly, he fails to mention that foreign aid per Palestinian is, by far, the highest in the world.
