Impeccable Timing – The EU Quietly Moves Towards Resuming Aid to the Hamas Government
With little fanfare the EU has decided to test the waters for resuming aid to the Hamas-dominated Palestinian government. The aid being offered, only 5.3 million dollars, according to a report in the Ottawa Citizen on June 12, is to be provided over the next few years to monitor the “growing flow of donor funds.” The timing of the aid announcement was impeccable, coming just as Hamas launches it final push to finish off Fatah in Gaza.
Meanwhile, French foreign ministry officials and a growing chorus of EU MPs are urging the EU to end the sanctions regime against Hamas and resume large-scale budgetary aid the Palestinian government.
The Australian on June 14 notes that only three months ago, Hamas had agreed to a unity government with Fatah “in a bid to break an international aid and economic blockade of the Palestinian Authority put in place after it deposed Fatah in democratic elections in January last year.” How ironic it is that the Europeans are moving toward direct funding and recognition of the Hamas-dominated government just as the unity agreement between Hamas and Fatah is unraveling.
More from SNAPSHOTS
USA Today Cartoon Notes Palestinian Calls to Destroy Israel
December 8, 2017
A USA Today cartoon, published on Dec. 8, 2017, detailed the response by many Palestinians to the United States recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. As the cartoon, entitled “Same old Palestinian response,” highlighted, not much [...]
The Hill Omits Turkey’s Support for Hamas
December 5, 2017
Recep Tayyip Erdogan A Hill dispatch about Turkey threatening to cut ties with Israel, omitted key information about Ankara’s support for Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror group committed to the Jewish state’s destruction ("Turkey: Recognizing Jerusalem [...]
Palestinian Textbooks Are ‘Significantly More Radical’ Than Before
December 4, 2017
The hatred taught in Palestinian schools is only increasing, according to an Algemeiner article by correspondent Shiri Moshe (“Report: New Palestinian Curriculum Praises ‘Martyrdom,’ Significantly ‘More Radical’ Than Before,” Dec. 3, 2017). Moshe highlighted a [...]
Fatah Official: Iran is Hindering Palestinian Reconciliation
December 4, 2017
Top Hamas operatives Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh The man tasked with leading efforts to reconcile Fatah and Hamas has accused the Islamic Republic of Iran of working to prevent reconciliation between the two Palestinian [...]
Israeli Peace Offers Go Missing in Politico
December 1, 2017
A Politico report about the Trump administration possibly moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, omitted the numerous instances of Palestinian leadership rejecting a Palestinian state if it meant peacefully co-existing [...]
International Business Times Peddles Fake News About Mossad’s Gal Gadot
November 28, 2017
A screen shot from Lebanon's Al Liwaa, which had erroneously used Gal Gadot's photograph to illustrate a story on alleged Mossad agent Collette Vianfi. Al Liwaa apologized, but The International Business Times lags far behind [...]
Official Palestinian Media: U.S. and Israel Are Responsible for ISIS Attack
November 27, 2017
PA President Mahmoud Abbas An Op-Ed in Al-Hayat al-Jadida, an official Palestinian Authority (PA) daily newspaper, blamed the United States and Israel for a Nov. 24, 2017 terrorist attack in which 305 Muslim worshippers were [...]
The Washington Post’s Hollywood Approach to History
November 27, 2017
A Nov. 22, 2017 Washington Post article, “How the Netflix action series ‘Fauda’ shows the human side to the Israeli conflict,” gave a distorted look at the Arab-Israeli conflict. Tellingly, the headline omits the party—Palestinian [...]
Duke University Press Criticized for Publication of Jasbir Puar’s “Right to Maim”
November 22, 2017
Jasbir Puar is the Rutgers University professor who first coined the term “pinkwashing” to denigrate Israel’s progressive record on LGBTQ rights, and who made the baseless claim at a 2016 lecture at Vassar College that [...]