Currently, the Obama administration has requested $550 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority for 2012. That request is based on present notions and past reality. Although the head of the Palestinian Authority is Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, all assumptions were based on his retaining sole authority over all of Palestine. But that is simply not the case.
While Fatah may hold nominal leadership of the P.A., it has never fully-controlled the artificial creation called Palestine. Though Fatah has its strongest representation in the West Bank, it had a strong rival in Gaza. It is estimated that Fatah controls about 40% of the Palestinian population while its rival controls approximately the same percentage. The rival is terrorist Hamas. Hamas is Iran-fueled, anti-American and pledged to the destruction of Israel.
Until recently, the American State Department could maintain the fiction that it was dealing only with the duly-constituted government of Palestine, namely the Palestinian Authority controlled by Fatah. Then last May, P.A. chairman Abbas entered into an agreement with Hamas to form a "unity government." The strength of Hamas in the negotiations is evidenced by the recent exclusion of American trained economist and current Prime Minister Salam Fayyad from the future unity government.
For all practical purposes, the United States would now be negotiating with a government that American law says we cannot deal with, let alone fund. The 2006 Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act conditions aid to the Palestinian Authority on its exclusion of any group which will not renounce violence, recognize Israel's right to exist, and abide by current agreements. Until now, the U.S. has also maintained that it is America's policy to abide by the decisions of the Middle East "quartet" comprised of the U.S., Russia, the European Union and the United Nations which require that the Palestinian Authority maintain all agreements between the P.A. and Israel.
It will be well-nigh impossible for the Palestinian Authority to continue to adhere to any of these foundational agreements once Hamas is part of a unity government. Hamas is pledged to its very core to the destruction of Israel. That is its guiding principle. This created a problem of serious proportions during the Bush administration when Hamas won the parliamentary elections of 2006. The "quartet" reacted to this by issuing its firm statement that it would not tolerate any Palestinian government controlled by a terrorist group such as Hamas.
After an angry Hamas seized the Gaza strip from Fatah in 2007, a coalition government which did not place any Hamas members in important executive positions was formed. The pretense continued, but will no longer be viable once Hamas is actually made a formal, active member of the Palestinian unity government. Yet the Obama administration acts as if tomorrow were yesterday, and continues to request aid for a government which will be openly hostile to both the United States and Israel. The vast majority of rocket attacks on Israel are already launched from Hamas-controlled Gaza. It will soon have the entire area to work from.
The chairman of the House Appropriations foreign aid subcommittee, Republican Kay Granger of Texas and the ranking minority member, Democrat Nita Lowey of New York sent a joint letter to Abbas warning the P.A. that forming a government with Hamas would "threaten the provision of United States assistance and support." That prompted the Obama administration to request the $550 million aid package to counter the objections of the subcommittee.
A decision will have to be made, and the potential victim is Israel if Obama prevails. With the exception of the mass-murder part, the President seems far more in tune with Palestine than with our longtime ally Israel. Obama has been openly contemptuous of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It is hard to say at this point how the whole matter will play out. If Congress refuses to fund the new unity government, there is always the chance that Obama will simply issue an executive order diverting funds from other targets and giving them to the Palestinian Authority. The House's sole power of the purse means very little to constitutional scholar Barack Hussein Obama.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
More Buckets of US Money For Palestine?
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25 comments:
Hawk
Of course our current administration wants to fund monies to the PA. After all didn't the magnificent one state that where conflict with Muslims occurred he would choose the Muslim side?
Our electorate just doesn't understand; The water wont clear until we get the pigs out of the creek.
What a fool. If he does divert funds via executive order, the House GOP needs to scream to high heaven about it and make sure he can't just move on from it. Hey, maybe the American Jewish population will become totally alienated from Obama and we'll see multiple repeats of the NY congressional upset next year.
totally OT:
Thought of T-Rav this morning when I saw this (hope the link works):
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/382738_251460438243710_221106037945817_738159_1254371674_n.jpg
(it was posted by this facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Humor-During-Deployment/221106037945817)
Back to the regularly scheduled programming...
Of all possible topics of conversation, none is more frustrating to me than that of Israel/Palestine. There is no other topic I can think of that makes people so impassive. I know and agree with everything written in this article.
But if I were to present it to those who think Israel is the problem, it wouldn't change a thing. Alas, they will just continue to see it that way no matter how much evidence to the contrary is brought to bear. It truly is a matter of the heart.
So-called "right of return," the 1967 borders and other such fictions only make sense if history is ignored before a certain point. Not long ago, I compiled a list of every reason I could find given to support the Palestinians' claim to the land. For every claim, the same could be made for the Israelis to greater, older degrees.
If you want to know who is blind and who is not, there is no greater litmus test than Israel/Palestine.
Tehahcapi Tom: Obama has certainly shown every indication that he supports Arab democracies (as if such a thing exists) over Israel. Nice metaphor, by the way.
T-Rav: I agree that the House should find ways to neuter any executive order giving money to the PA unless they oust Hamas (which is well-nigh impossible). I'm not sure what effect such an Obama order would have on younger Jewish voters, but the older ones who still say "never again" will notice and vote accordingly.
rlaWTX: I couldn't make the first link work, but here's the FaceBook link: Humor During Deployment. If you click on the photo, it enlarges so it can be read.
tryanmax: It's a thorny problem, all right. But as you say, most people who have an opinion don't know their history. Palestine itself is an artificial creation. But historically, the Jews probably have the better historical claim to the lands they now hold as integral parts of the State of Israel. More importantly, as the only genuine democracy in the region which doesn't continually persecute its religious and ethnic minorities, it has the only moral claim.
LawHawk,
Do you still believe that Obama isn't a Muslim? By his every effort and exercise he supports Muslim's who employ terrorism. He even helped remove a nominal dictator from a country (Libya) that had given up it's terrorist ways. It is now in Muslim hands who are dedicated to destroying Israel first and the United States second.
Calling Obama Christian should be considered an outright lie.
Joel: Quote frankly, I don't think he's a Muslim. I think he has strong family sympathies with Islam and communism, but I don't think he practices the religion secretly. I also don't think he's a traditional Christian, either. Black liberation theology appeals to him largely because it is almost exclusively political (like Islam) with a little half-baked Christianity thrown in as cover. Truth be told, I think he worships himself.
LawHawk, one argument that seems to come up routinely--and is the most appalling if you ask me--is one that cites the low numbers of the Jewish population in the area at particular points in history. It is meant to say, with no hint of irony, that the land can't possibly belong to the Jews because there just aren't that many Jews there. Nevermind that no other people have been the object of so many attempts at genocide throughout history! Equally little thought is given to the usual perpetrators. Somewhere near this argument comes the one that says the Israelis shouldn't have the land because they took it by force--so it should just be given to the people who keep waging war over it.
I like things to be cogent, so this topic just maddens me.
tryanmax: It's a frustrating topic for me as well. The people supporting the "Palestinians" have no sense of history, let alone historical irony (multiple attempts at Jewish extinction reducing their numbers). And of course there's that little detail that the Jews didn't take their current land by force in a way any different from all their neighbors.
Hmmm. Pretty funny, rla, though I'm not sure why you would have thought of me specifically--oh, wait. I get it. Heh heh heh.
Oh, and for the record, I believe Obama is neither a Muslim nor a Christian. I think he is an atheist who poses as a "progressive Christian" or whatever he calls it out of political necessity.
T-Rav: That's pretty much my point of view on Obama's religion as well. At best he's an agnostic as to other religions, and a zealot as to the Church of the Holy Obama.
Oh well, it's only $500 million. It's not like we had other uses for it... or like it will go to terrorists or something.
//rolls eyes
Andrew: You're right. For that piddling amount of money we could buy an entire green energy company--like Solyndra.
I'll be leaving shortly for the trek to Bakersfield to finish up with yesterday's appointment that we couldn't finish early enough. I'll pick up the comments as soon as I get back. Thanks, everybody.
Because there is a line in the Koran that says it is okay for Muslims to lie if it furthers Islamic subjugation of the world, I believe that Obama is a Muslim. Since Obama lies even when the truth will serve, he lies about his religion.
I am officially changing my name to Rob Al Sahamariah and will require expenditure of the US tax dollar to fund my new regime.
I have a solution to the problem that most will think way too extreme but to my mind would at least most certainly bring peace to the holy land.
I say that we announce ahead of time, one year in advance that we will expend in succession 100 atomic bombs over the lands of Jeruselum and Palestine. We set aside a fund of money to relocate every person who decides not to remain in the kill zone of the weapons.
Then once evacuated we can probably ensure for a period of at least 100 years that the only entities that will be able to exist in the Holy land will be the Angels.
I understand that this view is a minority view but I think King Solomon might understand and after all it belonged originally to him didn't it.
I could be wrong though.
best quote of the day:
"Our electorate just doesn't understand; The water wont clear until we get the pigs out of the creek." T.Tom
I got nothing else to add...
Joel: I lie routinely all the time, but I don't think that makes me a Muslim.
Seriously, the problem with Islam is that it is not exegetic. Jews are admonished to stone an adulteress, but I don't think they've done that any time recently. But unlike Jews and Christians who can sort holy writ from textual references that were valid only at the time they were written, Islamists are still emerging from that 1500 year old cave. Obama lies, but I just don't think it has much to do with his professed or secret religion. All liars justify their lies, and they don't need the Koran to salve their consciences.
Indi: Well that's a bit draconian, but at least it's a solution. LOL
Patti: When we're dealing with the minutiae of federal spending instead of dealing with the big picture, I'm reminded of the southernism: When you're up to your ass in alligators, it's too late to talk about draining the swamp.
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