Jerusalem Fund Urges Continued U.S. Aid to Palestinians

Now that Hamas has taken control of the Palestinian Authority The Western Nations has moved to stop financing aid to the PA. The bone of contention is the unwillingness of Hamas to recognize Israel's right to exist. This presents a huge problem for the PA since the economy of Gaza and the West Bank is a basket case. Wide spread corruption of the PA and a singular dedication to the destruction of Israel are directly to blame for this situation.

The Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development thinks the West should continue to finance the PA.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Planning (MOP) figures, $991,933,421 in grants were committed by the U.S. to Palestinians from 1994-2005. Of that amount, $928,982,988 was disbursed. During the same period, the EC disbursed $1.2 billion of the $1.48 billion it pledged.

To overcome the damage that occurred during the intifada and generate the levels of growth necessary to bring down unemployment rapidly, the World Bank estimates that Palestinians need about $400-$450 per person per year, or another $500 million per year from the donor community, for a total of approximately $1.5 billion per annum.

In order to bring about economic recovery and vitality, a key ingredient for the stability of the region, the Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development urges the United States and the international community to continue the humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.

As with our efforts to free Afghanistan from the Soviet invasion, the intervention in Bosnia and Albania, we have received only condemnation from the Moslem world. For the US and EU to blindly support the PA in light of all the calls for our destruction would be nothing less that putting the gun to our own heads. It's time for the Arab world to take responsibility for the Palestinian people who they have used as surrogates in their own effort to destroy Israel. Let them contribute to the maintenance of the PA themselves, maybe they can reform the corruption and bring economic development to Gaza and the West bank rather than the misery of constant warfare that has been their most recent contribution.