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David Frankfurter brought his family to Ra'anana, Israel from their native Sydney, Australia in 1992. He is a business consultant, corporate executive and writer who frequently comments on the Middle East conflict.
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By David Frankfurter
May 31, 2007
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Finally, a way has been found to relieve Palestinian financial isolation and suffering. New arrangements, authorized by the US, have been found to pay Palestinian Authority salaries. Money is to be deposited with the PLO and channeled via "moderate" Palestinian leaders, represented by Fatah party leader President Mahmoud Abbas and the independent Finance Minister, Salam Fayyad.
The mechanism is designed to avoid funding terrorism or dreaded "extremists" (represented by the Hamas government) who reject a two-State solution. Reuters reports that the US initiative is already bearing fruit, with over $80 million in international aid from Arab countries and Europe starting to flow. In fact, "Fayyad was expected to receive enough money through the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) account to pay government workers, including members of the security forces, at least half of their normal monthly wages later this week."
So let's do a double check. I invite you to read the following extracts from the Palestinian National Charter -- the official PLO doctrine. Although Yasser Arafat went through motions to modify it, with the approval of President Clinton, the changes were never actually made. Decide for yourself if this seems to be a "moderate" organisation which accepts a two state solution and rejects violence and terrorism.
Article 2: Palestine, with the boundaries it had during the British Mandate, is an indivisible territorial unit.
Article 7: ... [the Palestinian] must be prepared for the armed struggle and ready to sacrifice his wealth and his life in order to win back his homeland and bring about its liberation.
Article 9: Armed struggle is the only way to liberate Palestine. Thus it is the overall strategy, not merely a tactical phase. The Palestinian Arab people assert their absolute determination and firm resolution to continue their armed struggle and to work for an armed popular revolution for the liberation of their country and their return to it....
Article 10: Commando action constitutes the nucleus of the Palestinian popular liberation war. This requires its escalation, comprehensiveness, and the mobilization of all the Palestinian popular and educational efforts and their organization and involvement in the armed Palestinian revolution....
Article 20: ... Claims of historical or religious ties of Jews with Palestine are incompatible with the facts of history....
Article 21: The Arab Palestinian people, expressing themselves by the armed Palestinian revolution, reject all solutions which are substitutes for the total liberation of Palestine....
Article 22: Zionism is ... racist and fanatic in its nature, aggressive, expansionist, and colonial in its aims, and fascist in its methods. Israel is the instrument of the Zionist movement, and geographical base for world imperialism....
Article 30: Fighters and carriers of arms in the war of liberation are the nucleus of the popular army which will be the protective force for the gains of the Palestinian Arab people.
And Article 3 of the General Principles (Chapter I) of the Constitution of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (which is annexed to and regulates the Charter):
"...the armed Palestinian struggle shall be supported, and every possible effort shall be made to ensure that it continues and escalates...."
Moderate? Rejects violence and terror? Accepts a two state solution?
But the real test is not the theory of charters and of principles. The real test is practical. Who are the salary earners who benefit? Where does the money go?
The Funding for Peace Coalition has been issuing reports for years documenting the diversion of international aid to corruption and violence by the Palestinian Authority lead by the PLO --and especially by Fatah leaders such as Abbas and his predecessor Yasser Arafat. Despite denials by European politicians and bureaucrats, Fatah's terrorist "military wing" the Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade were prime beneficiaries.
Have things changed? Who are the "government workers, including members of the security forces" who will benefit from this new funding mechanism? A little snippet of news from last week lets us in on the secret. Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades founder Khaled Shwish was arrested by the IDF two days ago for murdering 8 Israeli civilians and injuring tens of others. Same with Jamal Tirawi, also just arrested by Israel, terrorist by night and Palestinian legislator by day. These terrorist murderers are among the many Palestinian "government workers" with military rank who will be getting salary payments from the international aid channeled through "moderate" Fatah and the PLO.
Once again, the international community -- led by the United States and Europe -- has found a nice clean way to fund terror and murder Jews. And they tell us money laundering is illegal.
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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