US Census Bureau puts the Arab population of West Bank and Gaza at about 3,750,000 (2005, wonder what the annual average take of this operation is). How can these folks survive? Ammo costs alone are probably double that.

http://www.israelipalestinianprocon.org/populationpalestine.html#chart5

Posted by: Layer Seven at January 17, 2008 8:27 PM

"And still nothing, nothing, nothing to show for it."

Is so! A barrage of rockets into Serdot, the highest volume ever!

Posted by: Sounder at January 17, 2008 8:50 PM

So, the jizya pays for the arms to attack infidels. It is like 'selling them the proverbial rops'.

Posted by: Alert at January 17, 2008 9:38 PM

All this jiyza doesn't amount to an ounce of good will from these arabis in west bank and gaza. As usual they will thank allah for giving them free money while they curse the euros and americans.

Posted by: desidude at January 17, 2008 10:20 PM

"US Census Bureau puts the Arab population of West Bank and Gaza at about 3,750,000 (2005)..."
--from a posting above

A grossly-exaggerated figure, that depends on one's acceptance of UNICEF (i.e., UNRWA) figures. But UNRWA is not so much a UN organization as a "Palestinian" one, almost entirely staffed by local Arabs (i.e., "Palestinians") or by Europeans who have completely identified with the "Palestinian" cause (which, depending on how much of the propaganda you wish to swallow, is a "nationalist struggle" of the "Palestinian people" (never mentioned before 1967, for before they they were almost always called "Arabs" or, occasionally, "Arabs of Palestine" or "Palestinian Arabs." But never "the Palestinian people." Indeed, the noun "Palestinians" was used, but used by Jews to refer to those Jews who lived in "Palestine" either in the pre-Mandatory period, or during the Mandate.

Remember that on the rolls of UNRWA, no "Palestinians" ever seem to die or move away, but there is always someone to stand in to pick up the check, receive the benefits. And the rolls keep expanding, and expanding, for naturally non-"Palestinian" Arabs who can get on the UNRWA dole attempt to do so, and what Arab is going to stop them, bring them to the attention of non-Arab authorities? It doesn't happen. Hence the grossly inflated figures, figures which the American government and other governments have mindlessly accepted and repeated.

Wariness and skepticism are called for, whenever the matter of the "Palestinian people" comes up.

Posted by: Hugh at January 17, 2008 10:43 PM

You will not see anything of any consequence, such as cleaning up their trashy living areas,sewer systems, etc.... it is all being pocketed by the select few terrorist & to their supporters to keep their filthy, corrupt, lying asses in power. This will build a lot of the inaccurate but deadly homemade-rockets the "Palestinians" love to fire indiscriminately at the thriving Jewish communities, while they are content to live like apes & then whine about how bad they have it. If these idiotic nuts would use foreign aid money as they should, they could have a lot of the things they say they are being denied. It is a waste of time, money, & lifes to give these Terrorist a dime, let the bastards sow what they reap. STOP ALL AID! It is nothing but a political farce anyway. Let their real people the Jordanians, take care of them.As for Israel, is Olmert intent on her destruction?

Posted by: Nathan Bedford Forrest at January 18, 2008 3:00 AM

Just got this gem from an ex-Sufi Muslim reader, thought you might be interested:

The honour of Islam lies in insulting kufr and kafirs. One who respects the kafirs dishonours the Muslims... The real purpose of levying jiziya on them is to humiliate them to such an extent that they may not be able to dress well and to live in grandeur. They should constantly remain terrified and trembling. It is intended to hold them under contempt and to uphold the honour and might of Islam.-- Sufi saint Ahmad Sirhindi (1564-1624), letter #163

Posted by: sheik yer'mami at January 18, 2008 4:55 AM

Wariness and skepticism are called for, whenever the matter of the "Palestinian people" comes up. - Posted by: Hugh

At this point, my level of skepticism has evolved to utter contempt of this willful ignorance .

Posted by: justamomof4 at January 18, 2008 7:32 AM

All that money. I can think of so many better uses for it. European countries could put all their muslim "citizens", as well as the muslims residing in same countries illegally, on big planes for first class, one way trips to the islamic nation of their choice.

Posted by: ImNoDhimmi at January 18, 2008 8:30 AM

It is believed the word "Palestine" is derived from the "Philistines", one of the ancient Greek people who settled the southern coastal plain of Canaan in 12th century BCE.

The Arabs conquered Palaestina more than two millenia after the Jews began living in the area During all these turbulent times to this day, there has always been a Jewish presence in the area.

OVer all time, there has never been any distintive Palestinian culture or language, and there has never been a country called Palestine governed by Palestinians.

For millenia, the area known as Palestine was a neglected area of desert and malarial swamps, with little cultivated land and few inhabitants.

After the Arab invasions of the seventh century, Arabic became the language spoken, although it was never an exclusively Arab country. No independend Arab or Palestinians state ever existed in the region.

Fast foward to 1947..the United Nations General Assembly Partition Plan...

over 80% of the Land offered to the Jews was desert...while the Arabs were offered large tracts of fertile land on the West Bank and in northern Galilee.

If the Arabs has accepted the UN plan, an Independed Arab-Palestinian state would now be celebrating it 61st anniversary.

Acceptance of the U N partition plan by the Arab states would have meant recognition of Israels right to exist as a sovereign state..

This was not acceptable to the Arab states.

The Arab decision to invade and destroy the newborn state of Israel in 1948, and the war the followed

CREATED THE REFUGEE PROBLEM.....

The responsibility for solving the refugee problem should also rest on the shoulders of those who caused it..

After the 1948 war, the Arab states could have rehabilitated the refugees by integrating them into the various Arab states, from which hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees fled.

Jewish refugees who fled from the Arab states after 1948 never returned to the Arab states.

The Arab states have perpetuated the refugee problem in order to preserve a focus of hatred towards Israel that will never fade.

Between 1948 and 1967, the Palestinian Arabs living on the West Bank and in the Gaza strip were governed by Egypt and Jordan respectively.

The Palestinian refugees never demanded independence from Egypt or Jordan nor was there any willingness on the part of the Arab states to give them independence.

ONE HAS TO ASK...WHY???

The Arab states formed the Arab league, one of the aims which was to find a solution of the Palestinian Issue, yet they did nothing to actively seek a solution to the problem.

ONE HAS TO ASK ....WHY??/

The PLO was formed in 1964...three years before the West Bank and the Gaza strip were captured by Israel during the 1967 war. Since these areas were under Arab rule, what was the purpose of this Organization?....to liberate Palistine...FROM WHOM????

mARCH 26, 1979...Isreal and Egypt sign peace treaty.

April 26, 1982, Israel completes withdrawal from Sinai.

October 30, 1991,Middle East conference in Madrid between Israel and Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the Palestinians,

THe negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians were based on a two stage formula" 5 year interim self-government arrangements, to be followed by negotiation on the permanent status issues.

September 13, 1993...The Olso agreement signed by PLO chairman Yassar Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Israel withdrew its troops from Gaza and the West Bank, apart from Hebron, and agreed to Palestinian self government in these areas. In the accompanying "Letters of Mutual Recognition", the PLO was recognized by Israel as the legimitate represenative of the Palestinian Arabs, and the PLO recognized Israels right to exist.

JULY 25, 1994, Israel and Jordan sign peace treaty.

While Israel was preparing for the 1996 elections between Labors Shimon Peres and Likuds Benjamin Netanyahu, a series of lethal bombings was carried out by the Hamas in Jeruselam and other Israeli cities. Israels peace camp felt totally betrayed. The Likud came into power , and the Oslo peace process came to an end.

The Palestinian leadership, Yassar Arafat, in particular,bears a share of the responsibility for the breakdown of the Oslo process--violating the terms of the Oslo agreement by importing arms, by having much bigger security forces than had been agreed to , and by not laying the foundations for a democratic regime.

October 23, 1998..the Wye River Memorandum was signed by Israel and the PLO

September 4, 1999, The Sharm el-Sheik Memorandum was signed by representatives of Israel and the PLO, restating the committment of the two sides to full implementation of all the agreements reached since September 1993

By now the Palestinian Arabs were under self-rule in the cities of Bethelehem, Jenin, Nablus, Qalquila, Ramallah, Tulkarm, parts of Hebron and in over 450 villages.

July 11-26, 2000, THe Camp David Summitt, Israel offered the Palestinians the best deal ever...AND ARAFAT BACKED DOWN.

Peace is within reach if the Palestinian Arabs come to terms with two basic notions;

ALL OR NOTHING contradicts the basic concept of negotiations. and the state of Israel does not have an expiry date.

and so it goes...Israel continues to offer peace the the Palestinians continue to refuse

Posted by: exsgtbrown at January 18, 2008 9:01 AM

The Jew-haters in eurabia and U.S. State Dept keep the jizya flowing to nurture this pathological "culture", surely one of the most grotesque in human history. This little experiment is tantamount to nuturing a petri dish of ebola or marburg virus. These little 'scientists' might end up wiping out more than just their hated Jews.

Posted by: Infidel33 at January 18, 2008 11:16 AM

How many Palestinians are there?

By my last count these flipping morons should be languishing in wealth, and have modern cities.

Why not give the money to a private investor that wants to run all of the Palestinians areas under a U.N. contract for housing. Run it as a business. Tell them that have to work, hold jobs, go to school, get good grades, graduate in order to stay. If they don't hold those standard they are kicked out to a 'Brother' muslim country.

Ok....it was a thought. Their muslims and won't accomplish anything.

Posted by: alaskan1000 at January 18, 2008 12:57 PM

How many Palestians are there?

And they called the bridge in Alaska the 'Bridge to no where'.

What is this the 'Check to no where'.

Posted by: alaskan1000 at January 18, 2008 1:02 PM

"How many Palestians are there?"

....looks like a trick question......since there has never really been a self governed country called Palestine (at least before 1948), i would say ...zero....but there a lot of 7th century miscreants creating havoc from the area where various militant Islamic groups call Palistine....

Posted by: exsgtbrown at January 22, 2008 2:26 PM