Palestinians Impose Preconditions, But When Imposed On Them--It's Blackmail!

“While Israel has some concerns, it will raise them at the appropriate time,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement e-mailed today by his office in Jerusalem. He called on the Palestinian Authority “to enter into direct negotiations without delay.”

A senior Palestinian official said the Netanyahu statement was “not enough.” Israel must freeze settlements and accept the West Bank’s pre-1967 boundaries before talks can resume, said Nabil Shaath, a senior adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Netanyahu Accepts Call for Peace Talks Without Preconditions, BusinessWeek, October 2, 2011

When it comes to negotiations, the Palestinian Arabs are really big on preconditions. I cannot recall them ever offering anything in return, but when it comes to demanding unilateral concessions as a precondition to negotiations--no problem.

It's coming to them.

And UN economist Raja Khalidi will tell you that the hundreds of millions in US aid is owed to the Palestinian Arabs as well:

Even two generations after 1948, no Western donor, especially European and American, can be oblivious to their historic responsibility [for the Palestinians’ plight], and to the immediate security and political interests that the continuation of this conflict implies. Hence anything needed to keep a lid on things is to be expected, and indeed comes without asking the cost.

Wanna bet?

The Congressional Research Service came out with a report in August on U.S. Foreign Aid to the Palestinians--and there is a section entitled: Major Conditions, Limitations, and Restrictions on Aid.


Among them:

o Hamas: No aid is permitted for Hamas or Hamas-controlled entities.

o Power-Sharing PA Government: No aid is permitted for a power-sharing PA government that includes Hamas as a member unless the President certifies that the PA government, including all ministers, has accepted the following two principles embodied in Section 620K of the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 (PATA), P.L. 109-446:
(1) recognition of “the Jewish state of Israel’s right to exist” and
(2) acceptance of previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements (the “Section 620K principles”)...

o Palestinian State: No aid is permitted for a future Palestinian state unless the Secretary of State certifies that the governing entity of the state

1. has demonstrated a firm commitment to peaceful coexistence with the State of Israel;
2. is taking appropriate measures to counter terrorism and terrorist financing in the West Bank and Gaza in cooperation with Israel and others; and
3. is working with other countries in the region to vigorously pursue efforts to establish a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace in the Middle East that will enable Israel and an independent Palestinian state to exist within the context of full and normal relationships.

How about that first condition--no aid to Hamas?
Looks like that condition is not being kept. In fact, it appears US taxpayer money is going directly to Hamas:

In a twist that almost certainly violates U.S. law, American taxpayers are unwittingly contributing to a Palestinian sovereign wealth fund controlled in part by the terrorist group Hamas.

The entity in question -- crying for a congressional inquiry -- is the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF), which the Palestinian Authority created in 2002 to manage and distribute its money and commercial interests. Nearly a decade later, officials say Hamas has gained control over some of the fund’s key assets.

How about that power-sharing government that Fatah and Hamas have yet to finalize?
While it has been a point of contention between Fatah and Hamas, the agreement has yet to be scrapped altogether.

"Firm commitment to peaceful coexistence"?
Abbas has lied about  putting an end to the incitement of hatred of Israel

Under such conditions, one might assume that the US has the right to maintain control over where it's money is going--but apparently not everyone.
According to Saeb Erekat, putting conditions on US is nothing less than blackmail:

Senior PLO official Saeb Erekat said on Sunday that US threats to withdraw aid to Palestinians over the bid for UN membership were "unacceptable".

Erekat told reporters in Cairo "we appreciate US aid, but to be blackmailed and bargained with over our right to self-determination, on Jerusalem, and on our Arab and Islamic identity is unacceptable.

(That comment about refusing to bargain about their "Arab and Islamic identity" at a time that Abbas is refusing to recognize Israel as a Jewish state is a nice touch.)

As if the well-known corruption and incompetence of the Palestinian Authority were not problematic enough, basic conditions for receiving US aid--conditions aimed at ensuring that a peaceful and stable Arab state is created--result in whining about blackmail.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Palestine.