EU RELEASES $467M IN AID TO PALIS

EU Releases 300 Million Euros in Aid for Palestinians (AFP)
The European Commission released 300 million euros ($467 million) in aid for the Palestinian territories Tuesday. Last week, the U.S. granted $150 million to the PA.

SEE ALSO: Bush transfers $150 million to P.A. (JTA)

E.U. CONDEMNS ISRAELI ATTACKS ON GAZA

EU Condemns Israeli Attacks on Gaza
EU president Slovenia on Sunday condemned Israel's attacks on Palestinians in Gaza as disproportionate and violating international law. The statement also condemned the firing of rockets by Palestinians from Gaza into Israel. (Reuters)

Israel's Statement to the Security Council on Palestinian Rocket Fire from Gaza - Daniel Carmon (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Israeli Charge d'Affaires Daniel Carmon told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Saturday:

• Israel has exercised restraint for many months now. This has been in spite of the constant firing of rockets and mortar shells on our towns and villages in southern Israel, every single hour, every single day. While Israel has been showing restraint, Hamas has showed no intention of ceasing its vicious attacks. Since Wednesday, more than 150 rockets were fired at Israel, dozens in the past 24 hours alone. More than a quarter of a million Israeli citizens are in the range of the deadly and murderous weapons of Hamas. The government of Israel should thus not apologize for protecting its citizens.
• No responsible member state would sit back in silence and do nothing as its citizens and territory are under constant attack. The alarms in Sderot - and now Ashkelon - gave Israeli civilians less than 15 seconds before the rocket slams into their lives, their homes, hospitals, kindergartens, schools, and playgrounds. And their lives are destroyed forever.
• Hamas not only seeks to kill Israelis; it has no concern for its own civilians. It fires rockets from populated civilian areas, using their civilians as human shields. This is a war crime against both Israelis and Palestinians. The Palestinians in Gaza are victims of Hamas' regime of terror. It is not only Israelis. We are all being held hostage by Hamas, the real and only occupier in Gaza through its terror.
• There should be no doubt in our minds that Hamas' true vision is the extermination of the State of Israel, and not to live peacefully side by side with us. It does not even seek to restore normalcy for the sake of the people of Gaza. Hamas bears sole responsibility for the violence.
• Sitting on the sidelines will only embolden the extremists and convince them that they should not stop their violence. Israel expects the international community to support us in our protection of our people.

Prime Minister: Striking at Hamas Increases Chance for Peace - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
Prime Minister Olmert told the Cabinet Sunday: "The State of Israel has no intention of halting counter-terrorism actions even for a second....We will act...without respite in order to strike at the terrorist organizations - Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the others, including their leaders, those who dispatch them, those who provide their weapons, those who allow them in to act in given places, according to the outline that we will choose."

"I have recently heard criticism and claims that civilians are being hurt, that the State of Israel is using too much force....Nobody has the right to preach morality to the State of Israel for taking basic action to defend itself and prevent hundreds of thousands of residents of the south from continuing to be exposed to incessant firing that disrupts their lives."

"Striking at Hamas strengthens the chance for peace. The more that Hamas is hit, the greater the chances of reaching a diplomatic agreement and peace. It is clear to me that...the Palestinian leadership with whom we are trying to make peace understands this." (Prime Minister's Office)

Israeli Action in Gaza Met by Loud Silence from Arab World - Zvi Bar'el (Ha'aretz)
Palestinian Information Minister Riad al-Malki responded to Israel Defense Forces raids against militants firing rockets from Gaza by saying: "Hamas gave Israel an excuse to start a war in Gaza."

Mahmoud Abbas said that the "operation in Gaza is not just a reaction to the rocket barrage." Both comments can be interpreted as Palestinian backing of the Israel Defense Forces ground incursion.

Moreover, the very mild Egyptian reaction also indicates that the IDF raid is perceived by the Arab world to be first and foremost a war against Hamas, not the Palestinian people.

The fact that Al Jazeera devoted a whole episode of a popular debate show to the question "Why are the Palestinians keeping silent about the situation in Gaza?" also serves to prove this point.

IDF FOILS TERRORIST EXPLOSIVES SMUGGLED IN E.U. AID

IDF: Chemicals were disguised as EU aid (JPost)
The IDF and Shin Bet uncovered 6.5 tons of potassium nitrate hidden in sacks that were disguised as aid from the European Union, the army announced on Saturday.

Security forces discovered the stash in the cargo of a Palestinian truck at a West Bank checkpoint earlier in December. According to the IDF, the material, hidden in sugar sacks, was planned to be used by terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

"Potassium Nitrate is a banned substance in the Gaza Strip and the Judea and Samaria region due to its use by terrorists for the manufacturing of explosives and Kassam rockets," the IDF spokesperson wrote in a statement.

"This is another example of how the terror organizations exploit the humanitarian aid that is delivered to the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip with Israel's approval," the statement read.

E.U. ANNUAL AID TO P.A. SURPASSES $1 BILLION

EU Annual Aid to PA Surpasses $1 Billion - Rasheed Hilal (IMEMC-PA)
PA Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Ahmad Subuh on Wednesday announced that the EU had donated aid to the PA over the past year totaling $1,080 million. He said the amount had increased significantly from last year's $980 million and the previous year's $880 million.

No Aid to PA Without Performance - Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Shelley Berkley (Jerusalem Post)

• Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly pledged to stop terrorism without making good on his word. Meanwhile, foreign aid to Abbas has entered Hamas' coffers. The U.S. has spent, and continues to spend, millions of dollars to help Abbas implement reforms aimed at eradicating incitement, providing security assistance to Palestinian entities, and promoting accountability and transparency of government institutions.
  
• Despite these efforts, Abbas and his corrupt Fatah party failed miserably at curbing terrorism and implementing government reforms. Yet, the U.S. counsels patience and offers further aid. This only encourages a culture of victimhood and unaccountability among the Palestinians, a culture feeding terror and perpetuating and deepening the present conflict. Therefore, the Administration's recent proposal to hand Abbas hundreds of millions in additional funding is simply wrong.
  
• Instead of disbursing millions to Palestinian leaders in the hope they will change their ways, we must link each disbursement of funds to tangible progress, consistent with the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, in purging from its security services individuals with ties to terrorism, dismantling all terrorist infrastructure within its jurisdiction, and fully cooperating with Israel's security services.
  

E.U. MAY FUND ANTI-SEMITIC RADIO STATION

EU may fund anti-Semitic radio station (JPost)
The head of the Center of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel is urging the European Union not to pour tens of millions into a Polish ultra-nationalist Catholic radio station infamous for its anti-Semitic programming.

The €15.5 million in EU funding would be allocated towards the expansion of a journalism school for the controversial Polish radio station Radio Maryja.

"The head of the radio station, and the radio station itself, is known throughout Europe as a symbol of the increasing wave of global anti-Semitism," head of the umbrella organization of Holocaust survivors in Israel, Noah Flug, wrote in a letter to the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso.

"Any financial support for such sources will only strengthen anti-Semitism and the lack of tolerance," he wrote.

The prominent Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza reported last month that the school was on a list of 350 projects that Warsaw had recommended receive EU funding.

A European Union spokesman in Tel Aviv had no immediate comment.

Last month, a European Commission spokeswoman said no decision had been taken on the issue to date.

The move comes just weeks after Israel and American Jewish groups urged the Polish government to act following the most recent anti-Semitic remarks by the powerful head of the radio station, Father Tadeusz Rydzyk.

Rydzyk reportedly accused the Jews of greed in a potential government compensation deal on confiscated property, and denounced Polish President Lech Kaczynski as a "fraudster who is in the pockets of the Jewish lobby."

The conservative Polish government, which has the station's support, has not acted against the radio director to date.

E.U. RESUMES DIRECT FINANCIAL AID TO P.A.

EU Resumes Direct Financial Aid to PA (DPA/Ha'aretz)
The EU has resumed direct financial aid to the Palestinian government of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, EU Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner confirmed Saturday.

E.U. RELUCTANTLY CONDEMNS PALI ROCKET ATTACK ON DAY CARE CENTER

FROM TODAY'S WSJ, BOTW:

'I Think That's Something That I Have to Condemn'"
A Palestinian rocket landed in a courtyard next to a crowded day care center on Monday," the Associated Press reports from Sderot, Israel, a city of about 20,000 that has been under constant attack by Arab terrorists since Israel withdrew from the nearby Gaza Strip. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but parents are naturally "frantic." The attack drew a strong reaction from the European Union:

Visiting EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana condemned the attacks on Sderot, adding that on a previous trip to Israel he had been in the town as rockets fell.

"I'd like to show my solidarity with the people of Sderot," he said at a news conference in Jerusalem with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

"I know what it means, and to see today again the same experience for the people, in particular at a time when kids are in school, I think it's something that I have to condemn," he said.

Wow, that is bold moral leadership. We guess.

UPDATED: BRITISH M.P.: ISRAEL TO BLAME FOR GLOBAL WARMING

Delegate at Brussels conference blames Israel for global warming (Elder of Zyion)
The frothing-at-the-mouth Israel-bashing crowd is literally beyond parody:

There was Clare Short, a member of the British Parliament and Secretary for International Development under Prime Minister Tony Blair until she resigned in 2003 over the Iraq war. Claiming that Israel is actually "much worse than the original apartheid state" and accusing it of "killing (Palestinian) political leaders," Ms. Short charged the Jewish state with the ultimate crime: Israel "undermines the international community's reaction to global warming." According to Ms. Short, the Middle East conflict distracts the world from the real problem: man-made climate change. If extreme weather will lead to the "end of the human race," as Ms. Short warned it could, add this to the list of the crimes of Israel.

Can blaming Israel for earthquakes and tsunamis be far behind?

UPDATE: DID SHE SEE THIS?

Israel Tops Green List - Zafrir Rinat (Ha'aretz)
The IUCN-World Conservation Union recently named Israel the nation with the highest percentage of preserved land in the Mediterranean region. According to the IUCN, Israel has set aside 16% of its land to protect nature. In contrast, France protects 12%.

U.N.'S ANTI-ISRAEL CONFERENCE

The Israel-Bashing Club - Daniel Schwammenthal
"Israel is an apartheid state," was the most often-heard charge, closely followed by calls for a boycott. The West should cut its economic ties with the Jewish state, the speakers urged, and engage the "democratically elected" Islamists now running Gaza. No, this was not a Hamas rally somewhere in the Palestinian territories. This was Brussels, where the European Parliament last week played host to the "United Nations International Conference of Civil Society in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace." Speaker after speaker presented the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from an exclusively Palestinian perspective. Israel was accused of human rights violations while Palestinian terrorism and incitement went unmentioned.

The only attempt to present the other side came from an Arab-Israeli. Nadia Hilou, a member of the Israeli Parliament (so much for the "apartheid" charge), explained why her countrymen are pessimistic about the prospects for peace. "It's the disappointment that the withdrawals from Gaza and Lebanon, which were seen as gestures of good will, have worsened, not improved, Israel's security situation." By hosting this conference, the European Parliament has lent its good name to propaganda and helped to make radical anti-Israeli claims more mainstream. It's a huge disservice to the search for Mideast peace, which must be based on compromise and dialogue. (Wall Street Journal)

EU LAWMAKERS PROTEST ANTI-ISRAEL UN CONFERENCE

EU Lawmakers Protest Anti-Israel UN Conference
A UN-sponsored conference on the rights of Palestinians opens this week at the European Parliament, despite protests by Israel and European Union lawmakers who say the meeting's organizers have an anti-Israel agenda. Israel views the committee as a legacy of the 1975 UN General Assembly resolution - revoked in 1991 - that equated Zionism with racism. "It is absolutely improper and offensive that a conference like this is now taking place at the premises of the European Parliament," said Czech legislator Jana Hybaskova, chairwoman of the parliament's Delegation for Relations with Israel. (AP/International Herald Tribune)

EUROPEAN UNION HOLDS SECRET TALKS WITH HAMAS

Exclusive: European Union officials hold secret talks with Hamas (JPost)
EU security officials have been conducting secret talks with Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip over the past few weeks, Palestinian Authority officials told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.

The office of deposed Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh allegedly played a major role in the forced conversion of Professor Sana al-Sayegh. The PA officials did not reveal the identity of the visitors, except to say that they belonged to three EU intelligence services.

The Europeans are said to have met with top Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar, as well as Ahmed Yusef, political adviser to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.

Sources close to Hamas confirmed that EU officials had visited the Gaza Strip recently for talks focusing on security-related issues.

According to the sources, the Hamas leaders urged the EU representatives to work to end the boycott of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, and to pressure Israel to reopen the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

"We hope these talks will be the first step toward ending the boycott of Hamas, which came to power in a free and democratic election," the sources told the Post. "There is growing awareness among the Europeans of the fact that Hamas can't be ignored as a major player in the Palestinian arena."

EU RESUMES PAYMENTS FOR GAZA POWER

EU to resume payments for Gaza power (AP)
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - The European Union said Tuesday it will resume vital fuel aid to the Gaza Strip’s electric company, bringing a measure of relief to Palestinians who have sweltered at home or choked on generator smoke during five days of power outages.

The EU had suspended payments for the fuel that powers major Gaza electricity generators on Sunday, suspecting the strip’s Hamas rulers were pocketing electricity revenues. On Tuesday, the bloc announced that fuel shipments to the power plant would resume the following day.

Hamas denied skimming money, saying the allegations were an attempt by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ government in the West Bank to discredit the Islamic group.

ANTI-ISRAEL U.N. CONFERENCE SLAMMED

NOW THAT'S MORE IN CHARACTER. THE U.N.'S EARLIER CALL TODAY (POST BELOW) FOR THE RELEASE OF KIDNAPPED ISRAELI SOLDIERS SEEMED TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.

‘Anti-Israel conference’ slammed (YNet)
A UN conference of non-government organizations (NGOs) called to discuss "civil society in support of Israeli-Palestinian peace" at the end of August has been described by an Israeli NGO watchdog as an "anti-Israel propaganda conference".

The meeting, set to take place at the European Parliament (EP) on August 30 - 31, has been organized by the UN's Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, which describes itself as "the main UN forum where all NGOs interested in the Palestine issue can meet."

According to the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor organization, the conference and its organizers form "frameworks that promote the conflict," adding that the NGOs involved in the upcoming conference were also active in "implementing the Durban agenda of demonization," - a reference to the 2001 UN Durban conference on racism, which saw unprecedented levels of anti-Zionist rhetoric, and calls for Israel's destruction.

"This year, for the first time, the exercise is gaining the legitimacy of sponsorship by the European Parliament, further highlighting the role that the Europe Union plays in supporting the NGO campaign," NGO Monitor said in its report.

Noting that "the speakers list is (being kept) secret until the conference, highlighting the violation of transparency in the UN and EU," NGO Watch said "past speakers have included radical figures such as... Jamal Juma' Ja'afreh, from the Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign. Topics include 'the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and civil society response,' and 'Strengthening campaigns to end occupation, including grassroots campaigns against the wall, rallying around Bil'in" (the site of violent attacks organized by NGOs in order to provoke Israeli responses).'"

Speaking to Ynetnews, Professor Gerald Steinberg, Executive Director of NGO Monitor, said: "What is surprising is not the UN involvement in the NGO's demonization of Israel, but that the EU Parliament is providing support and a platform for these fringe groups. This is yet another side of the absurdity of the EU's claim to support peace, whilst simultaneously promoting radical NGOs, like ICAHD, and giving them legitimacy at the EU Parliament."

E.U. BANKROLLS ANTI-ISRAEL N.G.O.'S

EU Bankrolls Anti-Israel NGOs - Seth Freedman
Hugo Chavez's announcement that foreign dissidents will be expelled from Venezuela ought to put Israel's treatment of dissenting activists into perspective. For all that the ISM, CPT and their ilk complain of harassment and intimidation by the IDF and security agencies, the truth is they're afforded a level of freedom totally at odds with the demonic reputation they've bestowed upon Israel.

Jeff Halper, the man behind the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, is a supporter of the one-state solution - in other words, the total elimination of Israel in its current form. Halper travels the world promoting his message of "Israeli apartheid" and calling for heavy sanctions to be implemented against the Jewish state. Despite his highly critical take on Israeli government policies, he and his group are allowed to flourish and promote their biased views, unrestricted by intervention on the part of the authorities.

Clearly, he's as entitled to his views as the next man but, as a recent report by NGO-Monitor shows, the fact that the EU bankrolls his organization is somewhat more unjustifiable. According to NGO-Monitor's Dan Kosky, "EU money is being spent in total opposition to actual EU policy, which is based on support for the Middle East peace process, clearly defined by the road map and a two-state solution." When European taxpayers' money is so casually doled out to anti-Israeli groups such as ICAHD, it is little wonder that many Israeli citizens continue to question the impartiality of the EU and its officials." (Guardian-UK)

See also EU Funding Promotes ICAHD's Ideological Agenda (NGO-Monitor)

E.U. TO BLAIR: "TURN THE SCREWS ON THE JEWS"

EU to Blair: Turn the screws on the Jews (JWN)
Ten European Union foreign ministers Monday messaged newly-appointed Middle East envoy Tony Blair to increase the pressure on Israel to make more "concessions for peace."

And they let the former British prime minister know that they want to see an international conference on the Arab-Israeli conflict convened, one at which Israel would stand decidedly alone against the pro-"Palestinian" world.

Ynetnews reported that, in an open letter to the new big-power envoy, "the foreign ministers of the EU's Mediterranean states – Bulgaria, Cyprus, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Malta, Romania and Slovenia – welcomed Arab states' efforts for peace following the stalled US-backed 'road map.'"

"The Road Map has failed," the ministers reportedly said in the letter that appeared in the newspaper Le Monde. There was therefore a need to "redefine our objectives."

Europe and the Quartet of Middle East mediators should firmly tell Israel to make more concessions in support of Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas, they continued. One of their new objectives was "to obtain from Israel concrete and immediate measures in favor of Mahmoud Abbas.

"Among these, the transfer of all taxes due, the release of the thousands of prisoners who do not have blood on their hands, the release as well of the main Palestinian leaders [like Marwan Barghouti who does have blood on his hands] to ensure succession within Fatah, a freeze in new [Jewish] settlements and the evacuation of unauthorized settlements, [read ethnically cleansing the land of Jews]" they said.

While these challenges were surely daunting, the ministers said, "we know how inventive and resolute you are," the ministers told Blair. They also called for an examination of the idea, put forward by Abbas, that a robust international force be brought into the PA areas to impose a ceasefire between rival Arab factions. Israel has always resisted suggestions that foreign troops be introduced into the Jews' ancient homeland, knowing that once inside it would be difficult to get them out.

E.U. OBSERVERS ABANDON GAZA-EGYPT CROSSING

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHY ISRAEL CAN NEVER LEAVE ITS DEFENSE IN THE HANDS OF FOREIGN PEACE KEEPERS, WHETHER IT'S THE COWARDLY E.U. OR THE SNIVELING U.N. IN LEBANON.

EU Observers Abandoning Gaza-Egypt Crossing (INN)
The European Union is abandoning its role of monitoring the Gaza-Egypt border, one of the conditions of Israel’s leaving the strategic Philadelphi Route, which runs along the Israeli side of the border.

The border has been officially closed since Hamas won a civil war with Fatah over control of Gaza, though nearly 4,000 PA Arabs managed to cross over to Egypt in the following days.

The EU observers’ official departure is said to signal the Quartet’s (US, Russia, the EU and UN) expectations that the crossing will remain closed for the foreseeable future. The monitors’ effectiveness in preventing weapons smuggling has been questioned as well, with evidence that Hamas managed to smuggle tons of explosives and even missiles into Gaza despite the presence of the observers.

E.U. ABANDONS GAZA/EGYPT BORDER CROSSING

THIS (AND THE U.N.'S WILLFUL BLINDNESS TO SYRIA'S REARMING OF HEZBOLLAH) IS WHY ISRAEL CANNOT TRUST INTERNATIONAL PEACEKEEPERS AND MUST RELY UPON ITSELF, AND ONLY ITSELF, FOR ITS DEFENSE.

EU Monitors to Stay Away from Gaza-Egypt Border Crossing - Herb Keinon (Jerusalem Post)
European monitors will not return to the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt while Hamas is in control there, Patrick Delval, the deputy head of the EU monitoring force, said Wednesday. The border crossing has been closed since June 9 and is now in Hamas' hands. The EU's ambassador to Israel, Ramiro Cibrian, said that the November 2005 agreement on the deployment of the force clearly stipulated that Abbas' Presidential Guard would control the crossing. The 70-man EU force is in Ashkelon, waiting for further orders.

THE FOLLY OF BACKING FATAH

Addressitis by Saul Singer (Contentions)
The fall of Gaza to Hamas should not have come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the realities of Palestinian politics. As Khaled Abu Toemeh writes in the Jerusalem Post, “Fatah lost the battle for the Gaza Strip not because it had fewer soldiers and weapons, but because it lost the confidence and support of many Palestinians a long time ago.”

When will the U.S. and Israel learn that they cannot prop up their favorite Palestinian horse in the race regardless of how lame it is in the eyes of the Palestinian people? The West’s folly in betting on Fatah is yet another result of its acute, long-standing case of what I call “addressitis”: the belief that there must always be some Palestinian “address” to which Western negotiators can send their latest overtures.

Fatah and Hamas have long understood this syndrome. They built their political strategies on the knowledge that Western demands would always give way to the Western need to have a Palestinian “interlocutor.” Just as Yasser Arafat, by attacking Israel, avoided any real repercussions of his rejection of the Palestinian state offered to him in 2000, Hamas is now trying to escape its current financial and political isolation by attacking Fatah and Israel. The group’s leadership is clearly betting that the West, once more, will fail to resist accommodating a fait accompli—a Hamas-led government. Read the rest of this entry

THE U.S. AND THE E.U. APPEAR TO BE COMPOUNDED THEIR ERROR BY DECIDING TO OPEN THE AID FLOODGATES FOR ABBAS SO THAT HE CAN "FIGHT" HAMAS.

How to Handle Hamas - Editorial
Israel, the West and other Arab governments have rushed to offer financial support to the Fatah regime in the West Bank while isolating Hamas. Revolutionary violence is not, as Marx thought, the product of economic despair; more often, revolutions happen at times of rising prosperity and rising aspirations. By lavishly funding the Fatah administration, the international community might recreate the resentment against a corrupt elite that drove many Palestinians into voting Hamas in the first place. (Telegraph-UK)

Our Fatah 'Allies' by Barry Rubin (JWR)
Backing Abbas may be supporting the lesser of two evils. The problemis that it isn't going to work. And if we know that now, perhapsthis fact should shape policy just a bit?

E.U. HALTS AID TO GAZA DUE TO "LACK OF SECURITY"

EU Halts Aid Projects to Gaza - Robert Wielaard
The European Union suspended its humanitarian aid projects in Gaza on Thursday as the stridently anti-Israel Islamic Hamas movement took control of the area. EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Louis Michel announced a halt to 16 EU relief projects in Gaza, citing a "lack of security." (Washington Post)

THEY'RE TROUBLED BY A "LACK OF SECURITY." THEY'RE NOT TROUBLED BY THE FACT THAT THEIR "AID" WAS BEING USED TO BUY WEAPONS TO KILL ISRAELI CHILDREN.

EU MOVES TO RESUME AID TO HAMAS

Impeccable Timing - The EU Quietly Moves Towards Resuming Aid to the Hamas Government (CAMERA)
With little fanfare the EU has decided to test the waters for resuming aid to the Hamas-dominated Palestinian government. The aid being offered, only 5.3 million dollars, according to a report in the Ottawa Citizen on June 12, is to be provided over the next few years to monitor the "growing flow of donor funds." The timing of the aid announcement was impeccable, coming just as Hamas launches it final push to finish off Fatah in Gaza.

Meanwhile, French foreign ministry officials and a growing chorus of EU MPs are urging the EU to end the sanctions regime against Hamas and resume large-scale budgetary aid the Palestinian government.

The Australian on June 14 notes that only three months ago, Hamas had agreed to a unity government with Fatah "in a bid to break an international aid and economic blockade of the Palestinian Authority put in place after it deposed Fatah in democratic elections in January last year." How ironic it is that the Europeans are moving toward direct funding and recognition of the Hamas-dominated government just as the unity agreement between Hamas and Fatah is unraveling.