[Comment] "Palestinian" Poverty - Not Israel's (fault or) Problem

From Isra Pundit

Time and again, we are subjected to tales of woe regarding the plight of the poor "Palestinians", and how, invariably, Israel is to blame for the situation, as the poverty is a cause of the "Occupation", and this is what leads to "Palestinian" hatred and terror attacks against the Jewish State.

Case in point is a recent report by the United Nations:

UN report: Joblessness and poverty on the rise in territories

Economic, social and emotional hardship in the territories - the Gaza Strip in particular - is on the rise, according to a new United Nations report that will be presented at the Donors Conference in London on Tuesday. The report warns that closing the crossings between Gaza, Israel and the West Bank will cause a further deterioration in the humanitarian situation in the area.

According to the report, the third quarter of the year saw unemployment in the territories hit 28 percent, with the rate in Gaza reaching 35 percent... The rise in unemployment is explained, partially, by restrictions on movement due to closures and roadblocks.

During the course of 2005, UN agencies allocated a total of around $500 million toward humanitarian aid and economic development in the territories. Over and above this sum, up until July, donor countries transferred or undertook to transfer to the territories $134 million for urgent humanitarian assistance.

Let's clear the air on this issue, once and for all.

Can anyone account for the over $634 million that UN agencies have allocated to alleviate the suffering of the "Palestinians" in the "territories" in the year 2005 alone (and the over $1 billion in foreign aid since the early 1990's)?

If history is any indication, very little of this money was ever seen by any poor "Palestinians". On the contrary, at this point, the vast majority of the over $1 billion in foreign aid to the "Palestinians" has either gone into the pockets of corrupt PLO officials, or to fund terror and incitement against the Jewish State.

CAMERA reports:

More than 95 percent of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza now live under Palestinian administration. The PA controls virtually every aspect of Palestinian life – schools, medical institutions, civic and political establishments. Palestinians now have passports, a flag, and a sea port is underway... If “life has become worse under the peace process”, Palestinians can thank Arafat and his lieutenants who have erected a lawless and corrupt dictatorship that subverts basic freedoms and terrorizes its own people.

The fact that Israel is forced to take actions to prevent "Palestinian" terror is not the reason for the plight of the poor "Palestinians". Israel need not waste a single precious Shekel that could be going towards so many more important causes that would benefit the Jewish State, nor should it compromise on matters of security in order to alleviate the plight of these poor "Palestinians" that only comes at the expense of Jewish lives.

Whatever poverty issues the "Palestinians" might be facing, they need only look in the mirror as to where to place the blame. "Occupation"? Hardly.

The sooner the world starts holding the "Palestinians" and their leadership accountable for their actions, the sooner the poor "Palestinians" will be able to find a better future for themselves.