The billions of dollars and tons of arms that have already been sent to the PA have done absolutely nothing to strengthen the “moderate” Mahmoud Abbas. But in yet another self-defeating gesture to terrorism and bureaucratic ineptitude, Israeli PM Olmert is promising more. “Olmert: I’ll release tax funds to PA,” by Herb Keinon for The Jerusalem Post:
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday evening he would release frozen tax revenue to the Palestinian Authority and remove some West Bank blockades.
His words came on the eve of his visit to Washington, where the US Administration was expected to ask him to take significant steps to bolster Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, in order to show the Palestinians what they have to gain under the “moderates,” as opposed to what they have to lose under the extremists.
“We will cooperate with this government,” Olmert said in a Manhattan address to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. “We will defreeze monies that we kept under our control because we didn’t want these monies to be taken by Hamas to be used as part of a terrorist action. And we will do what we can to upgrade the quality of life [in the West Bank].”
Olmert said that there were still terrorists in the West Bank waiting for the opportunity to attack Israel, and that the right balance had to found to allow more access to the Palestinians in the West Bank, without risking Israel’s security.
“In the new circumstances we can perhaps take more risks than in the past,” Olmert said. “The purpose is to project to the Palestinians that when they are ready to refrain from terrorism, there is a genuine chance for a different life for them and ourselves.”
Abbas is expected to once again prey on Olmert’s appeasement policy and ask for even more. “PA sources: Abbas to ask Israel to bolster Fatah, release prisoners,” by Avi Issacharoff and Aluf Benn for Haaretz:
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas intends to demand that Israel immediately implement the American “benchmarks” proposal for increasing Palestinian freedom of movement in the territories. In addition, he will ask Israel to release a massive number of Palestinian prisoners, first and foremost Marwan Barghouti, advisors to Abbas said yesterday.
The advisors said that these steps are necessary to strengthen Abbas’ Fatah movement in both the West Bank and Gaza.
It’s beyond me how the release of terrorists from Israeli jails will improve the quality of life for the Palestinians. It will boost Abbas’ power only in his fight against Israel. It has been proven that this kind of support is fruitless against Hamas. It is beyond belief that Israel would even consider releasing Barghouti, who is serving five consecutive life terms for terror activities.
It almost appears as if Olmert is more concerned about helping the Palestinian cause than about aiding the Israeli cause. Olmert seems to have forgotten that more than 70% of the Palestinians voted for Hamas in the 2006 elections. Are they exempt from paying the price for their folly? Is Abbas to be awarded for failing to halt Hamas in Gaza? Is Abbas to receive hundreds of millions of dollars, of which no small portion will find its way to the hands of the al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade?
The appeasers continue to appease and the innocent civilians will continue to pay the price.
Crossposted from The American Israeli Patriot.