Sunday 7 September 2008

European money fuels Palestinian terror, says EU lawmaker

"A member of the European Union parliament this week criticized the practice of pouring European funds into the Palestinian Authority, insisting that it was only perpetuating the conflict by creating a welfare state.

Writing in London's Daily Telegraph, MP Daniel Hannan noted that "a welfare state is…the perfect terrorist habitat." He insisted that there is a direct connection between the fact that the Palestinians "receive more assistance, per capita, than any other people on Earth, and live in one of its most violent spaces."

Hannan said that as long as the Palestinians "remain trapped in the squalor of dependency," they will be left free to formulate and act upon violent ideologies instead of building their own economic future.

In addition to being politically foolish, Hannan also explained that EU financial aid to a Palestinian Authority that includes, and is in fact dominated by, Hamas is illegal.

"Many of the PA's officials are Hamas militants, whose salaries are being paid while they serve their sentences in Israeli jails," Hannan noted. "Under Brussels rules, funding such an organization is a criminal offense."

The EU has given the Palestinian Authority $500 million this year, and recently approved an additional $80 million."

Source: Israel Today

Daniel Hannan blog

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