Posted on 07/17/2014 8:49:06 AM PDT by Star Traveler
With multi-million-dollar land deals, luxury villas and black market fuel from Egypt, Gaza's rulers made billions while the rest of the population struggled with 38-percent poverty and 40-percent unemployment.
While the fighting is only expected to worsen the distress of the residents of Gaza, the Strip's economic outlook for the Strip was never good. The unemployment rate in Gaza stood at approximately 40% before the latest conflict, with a similar proportion being classed as living under the poverty line.
But while most of the Gaza population tries to deal with the difficulties of daily life, it seems that one sector at least has had few worries about their livelihoods - Hamas leaders and their associates.
(Excerpt) Read more at ynetnews.com ...
Hamas, not Israel, is the real enemy of the Palestinians
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3181483/posts
To Gaza’s innocent civilians: Demand a ‘Gaza Spring’ and rid yourself of Hamas’ violent theocrats and kleptocrats, who love Palestinian children less than they hate Israel.
The real enemy of the innocent civilians of Gaza is Hamas, not Israel. Despite the fact that many Gazans voted for Hamas in the last Palestinian election, that terrorist organization has ill-served its constituents.
When Israel ended its occupation of Gaza in 2005, it left behind farm equipment and other material capable of feeding the population. Donor countries promised support, both financial and political if Gaza would live up to its potential as a Singapore on the Mediterranean. But instead the leaders of Gaza enriched themselves and used the remaining resources to build rockets instead of plowshares. They fired these rockets at Israeli civilians and devised a strategy of using their own innocent civilians as human shields against Israel’s anticipated responses to the rocket fire. Only after Hamas started firing rockets at Israeli civilians, did Israel impose a painful blockade against Gaza, which contributed to the area’s poor economic situation.
The Hamas human shield strategy—in combination with its refusal to allow its civilians to seek shelter in Gaza’s many tunnels, which are reserved for Hamas terrorists and commanders—has resulted in what appears to be a disproportionate ratio of civilians to combatants among Gazan casualties. Although the international media blames this unfortunate ratio on Israel, the civilian population of Gaza knows the truth: That Hamas deliberately seeks to increase the number of civilian casualties by not providing them shelter, while seeking to decrease the number of terrorist casualties by providing them the safety of tunnels and other secure areas.
Gazans are more scared of Hamas than the IDF
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3181469/posts
Analysis: Islamist organizations in Gaza are still negotiating over negotiations, while in Israel, defense chiefs are seeing start of unrest against Hamas.
The negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza are complicated and are destined to be drawn out. This is mainly due to Hamas’ determination to leave the battlefield with clear achievements for its military wing, especially in the eyes of the Gaza population. These achievements should be clear enough to justify to the Palestinian street – in Judea and Samaria as well - the escalation of the fire on Israel, which resulted in Operation Protective Edge. Also, Hamas does not see Egypt as an honest broker and wants Qatar and Turkey involved in the negotiations, viewing them as without bias. In fact, what is happening now is negotiations about the negotiations, with fighting.
Meanwhile, those suffering are the people of Gazan population, among whom Hamas is hiding and fighting. Until the sixth day of the IDF operation, it appeared Gaza’s civilians supported the coalition of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, in particular their military wings, who are managing the fighting. Tuesday saw a reversal of this support.
The civilians of Gaza, including Hamas supporters, have begun to express resentment towards the militant organizations that have made their lives hell. Such expressions of dissatisfaction, both to foreign reporters and in private conversations, have become more and more common, and could well signal the beginning of unrest against Hamas.
I don’t doubt at all that various Muslim groups are robbing whoever else they can, faith brothers or not, blind.
That’s one thing that an Israeli occupation of Gaza would stop. Gazans who didn’t want to engage in guerilla activities would fare pretty well.
Anyone wonder where U.S. taxpayer money thrown at "Palestine" by Hillary, Kerry and the other amateur children running our country went?
Anyone think that flow of money will stop soon?
Anyone think that the hamas leadership will stop stealing it?
YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID!!
I have always been of the opinion that if ANY country receive tens or hundreds of millions from the U.S. as "humanitarian aid," it is administered by the donor country or it is not sent at all!
That goes for Africa, Latin America, Asia, wherever.
Any politician whose attitude is "they don't steal that much... it isn't significant," should be doing something else.
At minimum wage...
One of my proudest experiences has been my suspension from Free Republic for referring to muslim-occupied Israel as MMMs (Muslim Mass Murderers) years ago, before the obvious became "common knowledge."
What Hamas has done they learned from the all-time mafia-like biggee among the “Palestinians” - Arafat, the Middle East darling of Billary.
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