Who Cares for Whom?

Last week, some readers were surprised to discover that Israel has an immutable policy of ensuring that international aid organizations can reach and assist Palestinians in the territories. They might have been further surprised to know that for more than 45 years, Israel has provided education and training in agriculture, medicine, technology,economics, public health, rural development and other areas for more than 100 countries – including Congo, Mozambique, Zambia, Vietnam,Armenia, Estonia, Bolivia and Hungary.

Last week, some readers were surprised to discover that Israel has an immutable policy of ensuring that international aid organizations can reach and assist Palestinians in the territories. They might have been further surprised to know that for more than 45 years, Israel has provided education and training in agriculture, medicine, technology,economics, public health, rural development and other areas for more than 100 countries – including Congo, Mozambique, Zambia, Vietnam,Armenia, Estonia, Bolivia and Hungary. [Thank you to the indefatigable Carl Alpert for this information.]

Counterpoint: International aid donors and the media have just discovered that the PA is spending money intended for the welfare of its own people on private bank accounts and slush funds. Corruption, they have suddenly found, is endemic or epidemic, or both, and international institutions and donor countries have begun withholding money. Israel has frozen $180 in tax remittances, the EU $50 million and the U.S. is threatening $200 million in project aid (we don’t give directly to the PA) and demanding accountability. Donors are shocked, just shocked, and funds are off about 14 percent from their 2002 peak.

The Washington Post writes that the PA spent about $1.1 billion last year with a deficit of $350 million, and that the Palestinians have asked for $590 million in new aid. A European paper reports that the PA asked for $1.2 billion – roughly what it received in 2002. Nigel Roberts of the World Bank told The Scotsman, “The level of assistance in the three years since the Intifada [began] is at…a level of something over $300 [annually] per capita. According to our calculations, that is the highest per capita aid transfer in the history of foreign aid anywhere.” To what end?

The IMF reported last fall that $900 MILLION in public funds were”diverted” to private bank accounts controlled by Arafat or to other uses for which the IMF could find no full accounting. In addition,French authorities are looking into $10 million reportedly received by Suha. The PA has 140,000 people on the payroll and pays 40,000″security officers” in cash. Last week Arafat rejected his own finance minister’s demand that the security forces be paid “on the books”because he feared losing control of them.

Fears abound in the U.S. and Europe that the PA will collapse under the combined pressure of corruption and fighting among the various armed factions. Arafat knows no such fear. “Let it collapse. It will be the fault of Israel and the Americans,” he told a PA consultant who happens to be a former State Department official.

So there you have it. The PA was created to lift the burden of Israel’s”occupation” from the Palestinian people; to give Palestinians an opportunity to build a state and a dignified life. The world naively put its faith, money and political resources behind Arafat – who not only created a social, economic and security hell for his people, but doesn’t care as long as Israel and the U.S. are blamed.

Last week, we expressed some uneasiness about Israel’s responsibility for letting Arafat off the hook for the well being of his own people.But all in all, it’s OK.