Today in “Palestine”
Palestinian foreign policy has been much in the news of late, but activities on the ground have been of less interest to news organizations. Let’s check in.
Palestinian foreign policy has been much in the news of late, but activities on the ground have been of less interest to news organizations. Let’s check in.
Early yesterday, British and American “monitors” left the Jericho prison holding Fuad Shubaki, mastermind of the Karine-A ($50 million worth of Iranian weapons on a ship bound for Gaza; why do you think they need foreign aid?), and Ahmad Saadat, who had confessed to ordering the murder of an Israeli Cabinet Minister. A statement by British Foreign Minister Jack Straw said the Palestinian Authority had ignored repeated requests for guarantees regarding the monitors’ security. After four years in Jericho, why were they suddenly worried?
Because Saadat was elected to the Palestinian Parliament (PA) and Hamas announced its intention to release him from prison, disregarding the international deal that required him to stay in jail to avoid facing trial in Israel. Rather than confront Hamas over reneging, the British and Americans decided to decamp and leave Israel to attack the prison to prevent Saadat him from taking his seat in the legislature and, presumably, obtaining parliamentary immunity for his crime.
The PA is blaming Britain and the U.S. for the attack. The Voice of America reports, “Protesters in Gaza set fire to a building housing the offices of the British Council and there were protests elsewhere in the Palestinian territories. A bus evacuating westerners from the Gaza Strip was fired on but no injuries were reported. The French Foreign Ministry also confirmed that two French nationals were kidnapped in the Gaza Strip shortly after a Red Cross official, believed to be from Switzerland, was abducted. Other abductions of foreigners in the … territories were also reported on Tuesday.”
None of this fazes the EU, which has announced an infusion of $140 million to the PA. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana declared, “Europe will not let the Palestinians down.” The World Bank tossed in another $42 million. French President Jacques Chirac said, “I know well that there are some who envisage sanctions (against the Hamas government). For my part, I am hostile to sanctions in general and in this case in particular … basically the Palestinian people would bear the brunt of it.” One would expect so, Mr. Chirac.
We have long wondered why so many people – including our own President – are so determined to bring about a State of Palestine in some indeterminate space between Israel and Jordan. There are people in the world with a better claim to independence, and a great many people in such dire straits as to have claim on the money and political attention of the powers that be. How is it that “Palestine” ranks so high on the world’s “to do” list?
JINSA reiterates its call for the American government formally to withdraw support for the independence of Palestine so long as its government is headed by a terrorist organization, elected or otherwise.