JINSA Report #556 Today in "Palestine"

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March 14, 2006

JINSA Report #556

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.

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.

To view this JINSA Report online click on the link below.
http://www.jinsa.org/JINSAReports/3354

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