Pain of Hamas boycott worse than feared for Gaza's people

Financial Times.com ^ | May 9 2006 | Harvey Morris

[Leisler]

I just said look at it, or revisit it. But, honestly, there is no shortage of money or credit in the world. Nothing is stopping the Palestinians from issuing bonds and raising money for countless productive enterprises. (Theoretical speaking).

[Billthedrill]

This will turn out to be a classic study in what happens when a country entirely dependent on foreign aid finds it cut off. The neighbor who could help the most is the one they insist must not exist. The ones who have been egging on the fighters still provide explosives and ammunition but precious little economic prosperity.

It is, in fact, a state hardly worthy of the name; more accurately, it is the semblance of a state set up deliberately not to nurture its inhabitants but to act as a proxy agent for warfare, its state mechanisms provided for by international charity rather than internal economic surplus. The Israelis did not do this to the Palestinians, nor did the international community at large. Their supposed supporters did.

[Slings and Arrows]

[Slings and Arrows]

All they have to do is renounce terrorism, accept Israel's right to exist, actually stop terrorism, embrace peace and they will have prosperity and a good life.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

The poor, many living in refugee camps in Gaza and the West Bank, have had to adjust to living on humanitarian handouts since an Israeli ban on day labourers entering Israel deprived them of their readiest source of income.

They didn't think suicide bombing would affect their access to Israeli jobs???

[OB1kNOb]

IT'S ISRAEL'S FAULT!!!!.....(oh, and Bush's too)....../sarc

[mississippi red-neck]

Staff at the Palestinian Authority's environmental protection agency are grounded for lack of petrol money and are no longer able to monitor levels of industrial waste and sewage entering the water supply.

Well they only manufracture bombs, Kutusa rockets and hate.

Those they can do without.

As far as the sewage...Well.. lets look at the bright side, if they keep the money cut off that also will cease to be a problem.

[Constantine XIII]

Or they could give Israeli citizens a tax rebate. :)

[Zack Nguyen]

Amazing - some Palestinians would rather blow things up than eat!

[Sabramerican]

I don't know why you're surprised. They say it all the time: "you love life, we love death"

You know when they really love death? When it comes with a chuckle- the US paying.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1629443/posts

[Blood of Tyrants]

It's always someone else's fault.

[Alouette]

some of the money Israel owes them for taxes that Israel collects on their behalf.

Yeah well, the Israelis should be allowed to deduct the cost of the utilities that they have been providing to Gaza for free.

[conserv13]

I thought the PA paid the Israeli electic company?