Europe Steps In To Aid Palestine
The European Union has decided to honour the Palestinian democratic choice of government, Hamas, and assist the Palestinians by giving them €120m (£83m - $140m) aid for this important "transitional period".
This comes as Israel witholds $50m per month in customs and taxes used to run Palestinian society - it pays nurses, doctors, teachers, police, civil servants. "The aid is designed to meet the "basic needs" of Palestinians and will be distributed by the United Nations. The EU package approved on Monday includes: 64m euros going through UN agencies to the poorest in the Palestinian territories. 20m euros will pay the salaries of Palestinian Authority officials. 40m will be earmarked for electricity and other energy expenses."
The BBC article has all the numbers you need to grasp the meaning of this graph showing the breakdown of aid. Like almost all BBC articles, it is well researched and accurate, but like most western news media, the BBC report tells only a fraction of the story and skirts the real issue.
Palestine may have received $1bn from the EU and the US in 2005, but compare this with the amount of aid that Israel receives, through arms, tax free US donations and other means.
"The Israeli government is the largest recipient of US financial aid in the world, receiving over one-third of total US aid to foreign countries, even though Israel’s population comprises just .001% of the world’s population and has one of the world’s higher per capita incomes.Since 1949 the US has given Israel a total of $84,854,827,200. The interest costs born by US taxpayers on behalf of Israel are $49,937,000,000 – making the total amount of aid given to Israel since 1949 $134,791,507,200 (more than $134 billion).
Private donations to American charities initially constituted one quarter of Israel’s budget. Today, it is estimated that these tax-deductible donations exceed $1.5 billion per year. The ability of Americans to make what amounts to tax deductible contributions to a foreign government does not exist for any other country."
Palestine Israel Hamas EU BBC Links Palestinian Monitor
posted by Deek Deekster @ 11:10 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I love the readers of Blog of Funk, who leave kind comments about my depression, but invariably say nothing about a really contentious issue like Israel/Palestine. I really think there is a taboo in place here - is everybody scared of venturing an opinion? I know that the whole deal is loaded, but does that mean it shouldn't be talked about it non-political company? I feel like the party bastard for mentioning the issue. I can hear the coughs and the nervous shufflings of feet as people just wait for me to drop the topic to pass on to something more interesting... ah well, thank the Big Mama it's not a fixation and that, once the drugs have kicked in, I return to safe areas, like childhood, birds, Google...
Deek, I think you might've misread the lack of commentary. It is a complex issue...hard to respond concisely on the ticklish issues of geopolitical madness.
My opinion is that this is your blog, your ring of the circus, you should let your freak flag fly...take no prisoners, make no apologies. Never, ever, pander. Never be safe.
Freedom is what we make of it. Keep freedom alive.
You neglect to point out that Palestine is the largest recipient of financial aid per capita in the world.
This is always neglected though.. too bad.
Still, that doesn't take away from the ignorance which is maintained about the unique financial props which sustain Israel, does it?
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