Palestinian Terrorism, American Funds?
Ramallah pledged to investigate, which is good for a laugh. The Palestinian Authority (PA) glorifies terrorism by its security forces, as is documented in a new study by Palestinian Media Watch, an Israel-based research institute. The PA also subsidizes terrorists, paying them or their families monthly salaries for life. This costs more than $300 million a year, about 8% of the PA budget.
The 2018 Taylor Force Act stops direct U.S. economic aid to the PA. But support for the PA Security Forces (PASF) is another matter, the State Department tells us: 'The United States has continued to provide limited assistance to the PASF for the purpose of maintaining stability in the West Bank, apprehending terrorists and militants and supporting related criminal prosecutions, and keeping Israel secure.'
On May 1, the Palestinian Media Watch study says, the PA Security Forces honored one of its own, Naji Arrar, when he was released by Israel after serving 18 years for shooting attacks during the Second Intifada. Dressed in a PASF uniform, he was welcomed back to his unit as a hero. The PA's Governor of Ramallah, Laila Ghannam, posed with him for a photo.
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The Israeli government has used allegations of widespread Hamas theft to justify draconian restrictions on humanitarian assistance entering Gaza and to justify bombing aid depots. Some far-right members of the Israeli government have said these restrictions are useful in pressuring Hamas into making negotiating concessions and in turning Gaza's population against Hamas. Israel has not provided public proof that Hamas has systematically stolen aid brought into Gaza under the U.N. system, and despite requests from The Washington Post to officials in the IDF, the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the prime minister's office, no evidence has been provided to substantiate reports of widespread diversion of U.N. food aid. Nor has Israel privately presented proof to humanitarian organizations or Western government officials, even when they have pressed for evidence, according to interviews with more than a dozen aid officials and several current and former Western officials. Carl Skau, deputy executive director for the U.N.'s World Food Program, one of the main providers of flour in Gaza throughout the war, said in an interview that systematic aid diversion by Hamas 'has not been an issue for us so far in the conflict.' WFP previously reported three instances of looting of its supplies during 21 months of war. 'We have mitigating measures that we have drawn lessons from over the past 40 years operating in these kinds of complex environments with armed groups,' he said. 'We are putting all those mitigating measures in place.' Officials from several major international aid organizations have also said that there has been no systematic diversion of their aid by Hamas and that they have robust procedures for tracking aid as it enters Gaza and is distributed. An Egyptian official briefed on intelligence, however, said that Hamas had indeed stolen some of this food aid. 'Hamas is trying to use the aid to survive. It's happening,' said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the news media. Among the group's demands in negotiations with Israel over a new ceasefire deal is the reopening of Gaza's borders and the surging of humanitarian aid — partly to alleviate the severe shortage of food that has turned public opinion against Hamas, but also to revive its cash flow, said an official familiar with the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations. 'One of the reasons that Hamas is pushing for a return to the old system is that they have guys in all of the warehouses,' said a Western official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the news media. The presence of employees of the Gaza government allows Hamas to regulate and monitor market activities, as well as tax or seize some of the supplies at times, said a high-level Israeli official. Until commercial shipments into Gaza were suspended in October, Hamas taxed these imports at the border and, if traders refused, commandeered a portion of their trucks and sold their contents to Gazan merchants, according to a Gazan economic reporter. He said that before the war, 'fuel and cigarettes were the highest taxed and most profitable items for the Hamas government in Gaza,' adding that revenue data has been difficult to access. A Gazan businessman said Hamas had imposed a tax of a least 20 percent on many goods. But the group also would take control of trucks carrying high-demand goods like flour, which could sell for up to $30 for a kilogram, and steal fuel meant for aid groups. Fuel supplies have produced high revenue for Hamas during the war, with the group both taxing and seizing fuel stored at gas stations for sale, said an Israeli military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity in accordance with military protocol. In addition to taxing goods, Hamas also made money by allowing associated merchants to sell imported staples like sugar and flour at inflated prices without fear of being punished for price gouging, according to the IDF, which cited an internal Hamas document obtained by the military. The Gazan economic reporter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation, confirmed that these merchants are allowed to sell goods at inflated prices. He said Hamas would at times constrain supply on the market by ordering others to withhold distribution for several days, thus forcing up prices. When Israel resumed the war in March, Hamas saw its revenue tumble as imports and aid shipments into Gaza largely were reduced to a trickle. The establishment in May of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — a food assistance program backed by the U.S. and Israel whose operations have been overshadowed by the repeated fatal shooting of Palestinians seeking aid at its centers — has deprived Hamas of earlier revenue, the Israeli military official said. As Hamas has come under growing military and financial pressures, it has become increasingly repressive in a bid to show it is still in control. Gazans interviewed for this story spoke of growing fear of retribution. In videos posted since this spring on social media by a Hamas-linked unit formed to dole out punishments, masked gunmen are shown beating up and shooting the legs of men accused of stealing aid. Gazans said Hamas is also seeking to intimidate those critical of the group. Last month, for instance, Mowafeq Khdour, 31, was robbed and brutally beaten by dozens of armed Hamas men after he spoke out publicly against Hamas, his brother Mahmoud said over WhatsApp. As Hamas adopts harsher policies, the group's popularity is falling, said Rami, a 40-year-old employee of the Hamas-run government who spoke on the condition that only his first name be used out of concern for his safety. He said the anger on Gaza's streets is markedly different from the optimism earlier in the conflict, when 'we believed we were on the brink of liberating Palestine or achieving a major victory in the war,' especially with Hamas and its allies holding about 250 people hostage. 'Israel's actions are undeniably criminal, but Hamas's poor judgment and failure to account for the war's aftermath have also contributed significantly to this disaster,' Rami said. Balousha reported from Hamilton, Ontario. Miriam Berger and Lior Soroka in Tel Aviv contributed to this report.
