WASHINGTON — The Obama administration intends to provide some $900 million to help rebuild Gaza after the Israeli incursion that ended last month, administration officials said Monday.
In an early sign of how the administration plans to deal with Hamas, the militant Islamist group that controls Gaza, an official said that the aid would not go to Hamas but that it would be funneled through nongovernmental organizations.
By seeking to aid Gazans but not Hamas, the administration is following the lead of the Bush administration, which sent money to Gaza through nongovernmental organizations. In December, it said it would give $85 million to the United Nations agency that provides aid to Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. [...]
1) This is a joke. Hamas controls all aspects of civil life in 'Aza. To say that the money will not go to Hamas is like saying that the bank manager won't have access to what the teller does because I didn't hand him my money.
ReplyDelete2) There are parts of Tel Aviv that are in serious needs of rehabilitation. If the Israeli army shells them, will the Americans send them money too?
"Part of the goal of the new funding is to boost the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas, which controls the occupied West Bank.
ReplyDeleteThe United States wants Abbas’s PA to play a central role in the reconstruction effort in Gaza, hoping this will increase its influence in the Hamas stronghold. Washington is also putting pressure on other donors to bolster Abbas.
“We call on donor countries to focus their pledges to meet the Palestinian Authority’s priorities, including budget support, and on projects that can be funded through the Palestinian Authority and other existing, trusted mechanisms,” said a State Department official."
US foreign aid packages usually include the building of hospitals and schools, feeding programs and rebuilding of infrastructure.
These programs are generally staffed by altruistic professionals who are willing to risk their lives in order to serve in war torn areas. Most of them are missionaries.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30001-2004May15.html
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-klinghoffer052303.asp
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/03/24/1079939714048.html
http://atheism.about.com/b/2003/12/28/missionaries-rushing-to-iraq.htm
Obama is worse but the Bush administration also knew that the money was going to Hamas and didn't care about it.
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