Hamas: The Story Behind the Story

Last Thursday, January 26th, Hamas won 75 of the 132 seats in voting for the Palestinian Authority legislature. That Hamas victory over Fatah marks the end of ten years of Palestinian Authority rule.

And Fatah is pissed.

The Palestinian masses are finally realizing how abjectly corrupt the party of former PLO leader Yasser Arafat and current leader Mahmoud Abbas really was. Arafat was the biggest dipper and corruptor, with the EU having shoved $4 billion into the Palestinian Authority since 1983. Where did the money go? Not to the people; mostly to Arafat's various accounts. It is, therefore, no surprise that Arafat's surviving wife Suha is currently living in France (with mother and a serving staff) on a mere $100,000 per month.

But I digress.

This post is about money and what the United States is doing about the resulting elections placing Hamas ostensibly in charge. But mostly it's about what we were doing and my dismay over past practices.

First: the European Union continues to fund the Palestinian Authority (see above). EU member states donated about $600 million to the Palestinians in 2005.

Second: after the Hamas win, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States wants other nations to cut off aid to a Hamas-led Palestinian government. She ruled out any U.S. financial assistance to a Hamas government.

Humanitarian help to the Palestinians, many of whom are poor and unemployed, is likely on a "case-by-case basis," Rice said Sunday. She indicated that the administration would follow through on aid promised to the current, U.S.-backed Palestinian government led by President Mahmoud Abbas. "We're going to review all of our assistance programs, but the bedrock principle here is we can't have funding for an organization that holds those views just because it is in government," Rice said.

Wait wait wait wait wait. Are WE funding the Palestinian Authority? HAVE we been funding the Palestinian Authority? THIS is the story behind the story!

The BBC News article indicated, "The US has also said it would stop its aid to the PA if Hamas failed to renounce violence or recognise Israel."

I'm kidding, correct?

No. I am not. The United States has been funding the Palestinian Authority. In essence, that nice new carpeting in Suha's Paris living room? Partially funded by you. By me. That nice Cartier watch? I think I purchased the bezel.

How outrageous is this? Israeli limbs blown off by PA-led terrorists?

Their explosives, IEDs, equipment: partially supplied by the American taxpayers.

I am completely disgusted.

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Who else are we funding?