In an editorial, the New York Times almost hits a home run about the U.S. not dealing with Hamas.
America cannot bankroll a Hamas government that preaches and practices terrorism, denies that Israel has any right to exist, and refuses to abide by peace agreements signed by previous Palestinian governments. That should be blindingly obvious. America is engaged in a global armed struggle against terrorism. It is firmly allied with Israel and is committed to Israel’s survival.
Hamas won the recent Palestinian election fair and square. American officials, who say they are so forcefully committed to the cause of expanding democracy in the Middle East, should not even entertain the idea of doing anything to try to somehow undermine the results and install a different government. But that does not mean continuing to provide the subsidies that help pay for the Palestinian police, civil servants and other employees.
Here’s where they whiffed:
And Washington should continue to press Israel to resume turning over to the Palestinian Authority the Palestinian tax and customs funds that Israel collects on the authority’s behalf. This is not aid, but the Palestinians’ own money.
Tough. Israel shouldn’t have to transfer funds that will be used to finance its own destruction. Let ’em use the missing billions from Arafat’s account. Oh, wait. That’s already been transferred over to Mahmoud Abbas. So. Ask him for the money.
However, one other caveat about this editorial: The Times published it on Saturday, which is its least-read day of the week. Funny that they couldn’t hold it until Sunday, isn’t it?
Yeah, I know. Not really.
Funny but they have no complaints for the unpaid millions owed by the Palestinians for gasoline, electricity and water.
Maybe Israel is using those taxes and custom funds to make up the shortfall suffered by Israeli companies?
It’s not enough that Israel went and put its workers on the street and moved factories and set them up in industrial zones on the borders (Erez, Karni etc.) to provide the Palestinians with work, only to have Hamas and IJ attack them with bombs and automatic weapons and destroy the infrasructure; but Israel must bankroll that behaviour as well?
Why don’t they press Washington to give more than the almost half a billion Bush gave to Abbas last year?
Would they have suggested that, during WWII, the US give the Nazi government German assets seized in the US? After all, this was “the Germans own money.”
The Palis elected Hamas. There is no reason why we should do anything to help them. “We respect your choice, now you can learn that choices have consequences. The theory of democracy is that the voters know what they want and deserve to get it, good and hard. Don’t bother to call us until you have decided you want to get a life.”
That “good and hard” part was a comment by H. L. Mencken by the way, not a particularly fragrant sort for his enthusiasm for German autocracy and worse, but I’ve always liked that “good and hard” phrase. Tha Palis should also find out the truth of Robert Heinlein’s comment that vox populi, vox dei often translates from Latin as “My G-d how did we get into this mess?”