Banks are afraid to transfer mony to Palestinians - Fear of US retribution

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2006/April/middleeast_April674.xml§ion=middleeast&col=

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Arab banks are reluctant to transfer millions of dollars in desperately needed foreign aid to the Hamas-led government for fear of US retribution, the Palestinian finance minister acknowledged Tuesday, confirming the Islamic militants are no closer to paying weeks-overdue government salaries.

Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, said they are trying to pull away from a violent confrontation in their standoff over control of security forces.

Since the Hamas-led Cabinet was sworn into office last month, financial pressure by Israel and Western countries has left the government broke and unable to pay the salaries of 165,000 workers. Paychecks were due on April 1, and the next scheduled payday is less than a week away.

Hamas has turned to Arab and Muslim countries for help, but whatever money it has raised remains stuck in an account in Egypt, said Finance Minister Omar Abdel Razek.

He said Arab banks that do business in the Palestinian territories are afraid to transfer the money, fearing they could be punished under US anti-terrorism laws.

[Tom Joad]

1. Blaming the Victims, Killing them softly with hunger and want.

punishing the Victim - PCHR Position Paper on the Decision to Stop International Aid to the Palestinian National Authority
Date posted: April 25, 2006
By Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

Canada and the United States of America (USA), followed by the European Union and Japan, have suspended their financial aid to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). This came in the wake of the Palestinian legislative council elections that were held last January, the resulting victory of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) that secured the movement a parliamentary majority, and the subsequent formation of the Palestinian government by the Hamas parliament bloc. These parties, in an attempt to compensate for their decision to cut aid to the PNA, have decided to continue to provide humanitarian assistance through United Nations (UN) institutions and through non-governmental organizations (NGO's).

This paper outlines the position of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) regarding these rapid developments, which will have severe repercussions in the upcoming period on humanitarian and living conditions for Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). The paper expresses PCHR's dissatisfaction and disappointment at the double standards displayed by the afore-mentioned members of the international community, as well as their politicization of international law in order to employ it according to narrow interests and certain political considerations. In addition, the paper exposes the underlying dangers of the decision, not only because it constitutes collective punishment of the Palestinian people and contributes to a worsening of their economic and social suffering, but also the dangers for Palestinian civil society and NGO's in the Arab world as a whole. These dangers are due to the following considerations:

1. Over the years, human rights organizations and other civil society institutions have been asking the international community to intervene effectively and seriously in order to take practical steps against the sustained challenge by the State of Israel and its occupation forces to international law, including International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law. These requests were lodged in an effort to force Israel to respect its legal obligations towards Palestinian civilians in the OPT. Since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in September 2000, local, regional and international civil society organizations have increased their calls for international intervention to protect Palestinian civilians in the face of escalating war crimes and other serious violations of International Humanitarian Law (as outlined in the 4th Geneva Convention of 1949 on the protection of civilians in times of war) perpetrated by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) against Palestinian civilians.<1> These legitimate demands are based on:

* The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in the Time of War, which states in its first article, "The High Contracting Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for the present Convention in all circumstances." In addition, Article 146 of the convention outlines specific obligations of contracting parties, including undertaking legislative procedures, to pursue those suspected of committing serious violations, and to bring them to trial or hand them to a third party interested in bringing them to trial.

http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=10075&CategoryId=2
Arab Banks and other financial institutions should be forbidden to transfer money to the United States while it engages in a war of aggression against the people of Iraq.

[Oversea Visitor]

2. You know maybe people see truth

Maybe all go back to sleep
Maybe this issue goes on another 100 years
Maybe all palestians turn into sheep
Maybe then problems all solve
Maybe sun wont rise tomorrow
Maybe Maybe

Elephant standing right there in room
Solution easy dont believe

How to put elephant in frigde
First open fridge door
Then pick up elephant
Then put elephant in fridge
Then close door

How to take elephant out
Same thing