The Hamas money crunch

The AP has yet another balanced(!) piece on the money woes facing Hamas.

JERUSALEM (AP) – Even before it embarks on its first effort at governing, the militant group Islamic Hamas faces serious problems – international isolation because of its extremist policies and an inherited money crunch.

Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday that after Hamas sets up a government, Israel will stop transferring tens of millions of dollars a month to the Palestinians in customs and taxes. Foreign donors, who have annually made up a huge budget shortfall, are also balking at funding a Hamas regime.

Meanwhile, Fatah leaders are refusing to cooperate with the new rulers, openly hoping for their failure after Fatah was beaten in last week’s parliamentary election. Fatah won just 45 seats in the 132-seat parliament, while Hamas took 74, ending four decades of Fatah control over Palestinian politics.

“We will not allow … anyone to take part in a government with Hamas,” said Sufian Abu Zaydeh, an outgoing Fatah Cabinet minister. He told Israel’s Channel 2 TV that Fatah is hoping Hamas falls flat on its first mission of governing.

“They said they have a different way of doing things, they can conduct negotiations without talking to Israel, without recognizing Israel – let’s see them do it,” he said.

Read the whole thing.

Iran can definitely afford to fund the PA entirely, what with the extra billions the price of oil has given them over the last few years. I’m sure Syria wants to fund them, but won’t be able to. My guess is that Iran is going to fill in the gap and Hamas will lie about it. Then again, Gorilla Boy doesn’t care what the world thinks of him or his country, so perhaps they will do so openly — although Zahar has already denied that he’s getting any money from Iran. The fact that Ahmadinejad met with the leaders of various terrorist groups (including Hamas) while in Damascus means nothing. Really.

However, the EU is already wobbly over this. I don’t have much confidence in them.

Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) — European Union foreign ministers ruled out an immediate cutoff of financial aid to a Hamas-led Palestinian government, saying the movement deserves a chance to give up its armed struggle and embrace peace with Israel.

Hamas, branded as a terrorist group by Europe and the U.S., won 74 of 132 parliamentary seats in last week’s Palestinian election, ending the four-decade dominance of Palestinian politics by the more moderate Fatah movement founded by Yasser Arafat.

“We are looking to Hamas to renounce violence,” U.K. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels today. European governments “have an opportunity to pause and to think about” putting conditions on EU financial support.

So you think all of this pressure will work?

“The Americans and the European Union are dreaming if they think they can force us to change our positions,” Mohammed Nazzal, a Damascus-based Hamas leader, said on Al Arabiya television.

Nah, me neither.