Posted on 03/30/2006 3:28:28 PM PST by West Coast Conservative
The Hamas-led government faced a financial crisis on its first day in office Thursday, as Western nations threatened to cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority if the militant group does not soften its stance on Israel.
Hamas leaders said the aid cuts violate the Palestinians' democratic rights, but Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declared: "The principle is very clear. We're not going to fund a Hamas-led government."
Hamas has rejected Western demands to renounce violence, recognize Israel and accept previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinians. The United States and European Union list Hamas as a terror group, as does Israel.
The Palestinian Authority gets a large part of its $1.9 billion annual budget from overseas sources, and may run into difficulties next week when March salaries are due to be paid to some 140,000 government employees.
Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said the aid cuts hurt the Palestinian people.
"We were hoping that some countries would respect the rules of the democratic game and that they would have had different positions and not act this way," he said.
And Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar hinted that any country that shuns Hamas will be considered "an enemy of the Palestinian people." He said Foreign Ministry employees would not be allowed to talk to them.
Rice said the United States was reviewing its Palestinian aid programs to see which ones it would freeze, emphasizing that the U.S. will not "provide funding to a Hamas-led government."
Rice said she expected to talk about Palestinian funding with France, Germany and Britain during her current trip. "We've been very much on the same page," she said.
The Quartet of Mideast mediators — the U.S., EU, Russia and the United Nations — warned the Hamas-led government Thursday to recognize Israel and seek peace talks if it wants to be guaranteed continued aid.
"The Quartet concurred that there inevitably will be an effect on direct assistance to that government and its ministries" if those conditions are not met, the mediators said in a statement.
Israel has already stopped transferring tens of millions of dollars a month in taxes it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.
Immediately after the new Cabinet was sworn in Wednesday, Canada announced it was cutting off aid.
Hamas officials had hoped Arab and Islamic countries would fill the funding gap, but the Arab League summit ended earlier this week with states only reaffirming past pledges to provide the $55 million a month, a commitment they have rarely met.
Amid the threatened aid cuts, the new Hamas ministers assumed control of their offices Thursday, sometimes in unorthodox ceremonies.
Outgoing Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia was forced to turn his Ramallah office over to incoming Deputy Prime Minister Nasser Shaer, because Israel did not allow Haniyeh to travel there from Gaza.
Speaking in Gaza, Haniyeh said the seamless transfer was a testament to Palestinian democracy.
"This is proof that our people is a great civilized people, and the peaceful handover of power will now be a routine that our people will abide by," he said.
At the Foreign Ministry handover, the outgoing minister, Nasser Al Kidwa of Fatah, ended up in a debate with his successor about the need for the Hamas government to follow previous international agreements.
Zahar reiterated Hamas' stance that it would only abide by agreements it considered in the Palestinians' best interest. "Why do we have to preserve these agreements frozen or mummified and then worship them?" he asked.
Al Kidwa responded that international law and agreements were there to protect the Palestinians.
"International law is the line of defense for the Palestinian people, and the fact that one country does not abide by it does not belittle these agreements' importance, especially for the weak," he said.
Said Siyam took over the powerful Interior Ministry, which controls some of the Palestinian security forces, and insisted he would not arrest militants, one of Israel's conditions for peace talks with the Palestinians. He hinted, however, that he might to try to rein in the myriad armed groups by persuasion.
"We will not put our sons in prison, for political membership or resisting (Israeli) occupation, because occupation is the reason for the problem," he said.
U.S. envoys Elliot Abrams and David Welch met Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Thursday in talks that focused on the new Hamas government and the long-stalled "road map" peace plan, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.
You wanted freedom from Israel and the Zionist supporting Americans.
Start creating, growing, researching and funding your own way to your own nation. Baby steps, Palis.
May they all starve in agonizing pain.
We were hoping that you would see that killing little children might be considered WRONG!
And Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar hinted that any country that shuns Hamas will be considered "an enemy of the Palestinian people." He said Foreign Ministry employees would not be allowed to talk to them.
LOL! Then shut up!
All good things must come to an end. Looks too like there may be some disgruntled employees. This will be interesting as it plays out...
No further discussion is necessary.
Palimexicans? Handouts are democratic right? And what in the name of bloat are these 140,000 government employees doing?
So it will hurt the Palistinians people, will it? Well, since Jimmah Carter declared it a fair election, then the majority of the Palistinians decided that this was the government that they wanted.
I have a hard time feeling sorry for Palis claiming to be the victim of international politics when they knew and wanted exactly the government that they wanted.
Let's just drop a bazillion in Zimbabway (sp?) money on them. That should cost about 10 bucks plus gas.
"respect the rules of the democratic game"
Funny, I don't hear any other democracies wanting to wipe another nation off the face of the map.
---------------------------
I was trying to refer to the Zimbabwe money being virtually worthless. But the quantity would impress people who are obviously STUPID. (Thanks for the spell check.)
You don't say! I'm shocked that those Arab countries haven't stepped forward to help out.
a commitment they have rarely met.
Have they ever followed up on any promise or any commitment on anything?
They tell me Hamas is the real problem. They say Al Quida is nothing compared to Hamas.
Still trying to live and learn here.
Soon they may actually learn the only reason they were able to spend so much time and money terrorizing Israel was because so many taxpayers in other countries proped up their sorry economy.
Why can't the Muslin world support their own? Why does the West support our own enemies? Why aren't the Muslim countries stepping up to the plate?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.