Thursday, March 08, 2012

8-Mar-12: Some images to keep in mind as you hear about more terrorist attacks emanating from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip in days to come

Keep in mind, as you view the images below, that the Palestinian Arabs are one of the world's largest beneficiaries of foreign aid, receiving over $3 billion annually. That's before we include the multi-billion dollar annual budget of UNRWA, the UN's unique (designed to benefit Palestinian Arabs only) refugee relief organization that holds the Gaza economy together through the provision of many thousands of bogus jobs and eligibility lists that keep growing and growing faster than the population does. 

In addition, think about these points. In 2009, over 60% of Palestine's gross national income, and almost 100% of government expenditure, came from aid. The PA budgets allocate ten times more money to security than to agriculture.The Palestinian Arab NGO sector has become a byword for corruption, incompetence and meaningless job creation. And the list goes on and on and on, as does the silence of people who normally have plenty to say about events in this neighborhood. 

Something is very wrong with this picture.


Palestinians wait to fill containers with fuel at a petrol station in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 3, 2012. Palestinian Islamist group Hamas faces growing discontent in its Gaza stronghold because of renewed tax hikes and the mismanagement of a power crisis that has led to lengthy blackouts across the coastal enclave. Traders who import goods from Israel and the West Bank say Hamas authorities have introduced additional fees beyond the usual tax they collect, putting their businesses at risk and threatening the livelihoods of thousands of workers. This Reuters picture was taken March 3, 2012. [Image source]


Hamas customs officers in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip stand on sacks of cement smuggled into the Gaza Strip through tunnels dug beneath the frontier with Egypt March 3, 2012. Palestinian Islamist group Hamas faces growing discontent in its Gaza stronghold because of renewed tax hikes and the mismanagement of a power crisis that has led to lengthy blackouts across the coastal enclave. Traders who import goods from Israel and the West Bank say Hamas authorities have introduced additional fees beyond the usual tax they collect, putting their businesses at risk and threatening the livelihoods of thousands of workers. This Reuters picture was taken March 3, 2012 [Image source].


Palestinians wait to fill gas cylinders at a gas filling station in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 8, 2012. [Image source]


A Hamas customs officer in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip walks on steel bars smuggled into the Gaza Strip through tunnels dug beneath the frontier with Egypt March 3, 2012. Palestinian Islamist group Hamas faces growing discontent in its Gaza stronghold because of renewed tax hikes and the mismanagement of a power crisis that has led to lengthy blackouts across the coastal enclave. Traders who import goods from Israel and the West Bank say Hamas authorities have introduced additional fees beyond the usual tax they collect, putting their businesses at risk and threatening the livelihoods of thousands of workers. This Reuters picture taken March 3, 2012 [Image source].

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