by Steven Shamrak

At the opening of the Conference of Donors for a Palestinian State in Paris, French President Nicolas Sarkozy emphasized the urgency of creating a Palestinian state by the end of 2008. International donors eagerly pledged $7.4 billion, pretending that it will boost the Palestinian economy.

The list of fake friends of the fictitious Palestinian nation is long: the United States pledged $555 million for 2008, though about $400 million has not been approved by Congress; Britain, $500 million; Norway, $420 million; Spain, $360 million; France and Sweden, $300 million each; Germany, $290; Belgium, €86 million; the new Australian government pledged $39 million, almost doubling the intended pledge; and the European Union, €440 million ($650 million) in grants to the Palestinians in 2008.

All of the donors ignored the enormous level of corruption, which is traditional and common at all levels of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which usually makes almost 50% of donated funds vanish. They did not care that funds are spent on terror campaigns against Israel. Palestinian terrorism and Israeli military responses is not a conducive environment for economic development, but this has not made the donors stop and think what would be the better way to spend a huge amount of money for the betterment of the people they pretend to care about.

Would it be more effective for peace in the Middle East if all those funds, combined with UN and other programs, were directed toward re-settlement of the non-Jewish population from Judea, Samaria and Gaza to the low population Sinai, where these people would have a vast amount of contiguous land, which they do not have in Israel, and to build an independent state and have autonomy under the Egyptian government? But logic and common sense are not applicable when prejudice against Jews and fear of Arab terror and diminishing supply of oil is in play.

Nations legitimately suffering from occupation are not attracting such strong international attention and generosity. People of Tibet, Western Papua, Kurdistan, Western Sahara, Armenians in Turkey, Basques and others, who have been enduring discrimination and even genocide from their occupiers, are still ignored and brushed off by international duplicity.

At the same time, the world is not really interested in true peace in the Middle East. It is only after the terror campaign, which was unleashed by the PLO during 70’s, and coincided with the oil embargo imposed by the Arab countries, that the United States and Europe suddenly discovered the ‘Palestinian nation’. Recent attacks by Al Qaida in the US, Europe and Bali have brought the horror memories back: plane and boat high-jackings, suicide bombings and execution of Israeli athletes in Munich. Fear combined with traditional anti-Semitism and dependency on Arab oil creates the best condition for the successful fund raising party.

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Related: Israel, Arab/Muslim World, Palestinians, Economy, Peace Process, Anti-Semitism

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