Sunday Mail discovers how British tax money is funding 'Palestinian' terrorism
The 'Palestinians' are building the palace above for 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen using £8,000,000 (about $11,310,000) of British aid money, and after visiting the site, London's Sunday Mail Online has finally exposed it.
The shocking revelation that thousands of Palestinian terrorists, including men who have masterminded suicide bombings and murdered children, are given cash handouts from aid money will cause anger and disbelief, particularly in the wake of the Brussels massacres.
In the West Bank and Gaza, despite promises by the ruling Palestinian Authority (PA) to end the practice of paying aid money to convicted terrorists, our investigation revealed that they had simply duped the West by allowing the Palestine Liberation Organisation to hand out the cash instead.
Britain gives £72 million a year to Palestine, more than one-third of which goes straight to the PA. It openly admits supporting terrorists whom it hails as heroes for fighting illegal occupation, awarding lifetime payments that rise depending on time spent in jail and the seriousness of crimes.
One Hamas master bomber has reportedly been given more than £100,000. Other ‘salaries’ go to the families of suicide bombers and even teenagers involved in the latest upsurge of deadly attacks on Israel.
DFID and the European Union are still effectively supporting these payments to thousands of terrorists – despite claims to have ended such links two years ago. This was confirmed to the MoS by former prisoners and families receiving the cash, and in official statements by the PA.
In fact, the 'Palestinians' are the main subject of the Mail's 'expose,' most of which could have been written by combing the archive of this blog and several others.
Ahmad Musa sits beside me, a convicted double murderer sentenced to life in prison. As we talk, I ask him if he did indeed kill the two men. ‘Yes, I shot them dead,’ he replies.
Yet we do not meet in a jail cell. Musa is free, released after just five years. For he is a Palestinian terrorist and he was liberated under a peace deal.
Like thousands more Palestinian prisoners, including jihadi bombers and killers of children, Musa enjoys his freedom after being awarded a ‘salary’ for life.
He gets £605 every month, others get far more. If they die, the cash goes to their family. These men are seen as terrorists, certainly by Israel, and many in the West.
But, astonishingly, the money behind these payments – described by some as ‘rewards for murder’ – flows from British and European taxpayers.
For the record, that 'salary' is about 150% of the average teacher's salary in the 'Palestinian Authority.'
The UK cash comes from the Department for International Development, which will give up to £25.5million this year to the ruling Palestinian Authority (PA) as part of a £72million aid package. Our investigation discovered that the PA passes millions on to the infamous Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) – which in turn gives it to convicted terrorists locked up in Israeli prisons and their families.
Among them are Amjad and Hakim Awad, cousins who killed Ehud and Ruth Fogel and their three children in their West Bank home in 2011. It is estimated that Amjad alone may have been paid up to £16,000 from the fund so far.
Yes, those are the Fogels HY"D (May God Avenge their blood) in the pictures above. Hakim was 18 and Amjad was 19 when they murdered the Fogels. Unfortunately, they're unlikely to die the slow and painful deaths they so richly deserve. Instead, they are being supported by British and European taxpayers.
Also on the payroll is Abdallah Barghouti, the Hamas bomb-maker who was sentenced to life after attacks in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. It is thought he has received payments totaling £106,000.
Barghouti prepared the Sbarro suicide bombing (pictured above).
Dfid confirms that the PLO makes such payments, calling them ‘social welfare’ provisions for prisoners’ families.
It denies, however, that any British cash reaches terrorists, with the PLO taking over such payments two years ago from the PA after an international outcry.
But a Mail on Sunday investigation has found that Britain funded the PLO until last year and that the PA openly boasts of still funding salaries of convicted terrorists, even in its own official statements.
Former prisoners and the families of terrorists we have spoken to also confirmed receiving cash from both the PA and the PLO.
British aid money is supposed to be rebuilding and developing the Palestinian territories. However a devastating new report to be released this week by Palestinian Media Watch, an Israeli NGO, suggests that Western donors have been duped by assertions that the Authority no longer funds terrorists.
Some Hamas terrorist masterminds have reportedly been given more than £100,000.
Other ‘salaries’ go to relatives of suicide bombers and even teenagers involved in the latest upsurge of deadly attacks on Israel. Several ex-prisoners confirmed to me that they were paid monthly stipends that started in jail.
One said they also received a ‘bonus’ on leaving prison and lucrative civil service job offers, the most senior posts going to those serving more than 15 years behind bars, even though they are not qualified.
PA officials openly defend such stipends. Amr Nasser, adviser to the minister of social affairs, said: ‘It is not a crime to be fighting occupation. These people are heroes.
‘We could be giving them much more money and it would not be enough.’ Nasser added that, if Palestine won independence, the government would seek reparations from Britain for its historic role in encouraging Zionism, saying ‘You should pay us more money.’
Cash is fungible.
There is no difference between the 'Palestinian Authority' and the PLO. It's a shell game.
And lest you think the Mail actually gets that they're doing something wrong other than wasting British taxpayer money... they don't.
The four million Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza receive the highest aid support per head in the world. Few would deny they face unique problems given checkpoints, tough crackdowns and disputed settlements.
Their 'unique problems' are entirely of their own making. They could have had a peace agreement 22 years ago and more. They didn't want one.
I don't buy the claim made throughout this article that the 'Palestinians' are 'fooling' the West. They're not. Itamar Marcus, the author of the report on which the part of this article that deals with the 'Palestinians' is based, agrees.
Itamar Marcus, the report’s author, said: ‘There is wilful blindness by the UK and EU, who were happy not to even carry out the simplest investigation.’
Indeed.
But what's most astounding about this article is that it was supposed to be a report on how British foreign aid is wasted in general. There are about two paragraphs about other places in the world, and much, much more about the 'Palestinians,' who are Europe's (and Britain's) pet project. You don't think that has anything to do with rampant anti-Semitism in Britain and Europe, do you?
UK names Israel a 'country of concern' for 'human rights' violations twice as bad as Iran
The British Foreign Office on Thursday released a 'human rights' report that named Israel a 'country of concern' alongside such serial human rights violators as Iran, Bahrain and Belarus.
The foreign office identified the Jewish State as a "country of
concern," making a special mention of the recent Gaza escalation,
Israeli settlement policy and the Israel government's withholding of
Palestinian custom revenues.
Israel’s inclusion on the list of 28
countries perpetrating violations is likely to cause its incoming
government some concern, in light of its close British ally’s repeated
cautions in recent months that Israel’s “illegal” pursuit of settlement
expansion risks alienating its international allies.
'Close British ally'? Says who?
The update of the climate between October and December 2012 concluded
that despite Hamas receiving widespread condemnation from foreign
leaders at the time of November’s escalation for instigating the
exchange of hostilities, “the violence has resulted in a number of
humanitarian needs, including a worsening of the already precarious
humanitarian situation in Gaza”.
On the issue of Israel’s
contentious settlement building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, the
report recalled British Foreign Minister William Hague’s warnings that
the continued policy “undermines trust between the parties” as it
“constitutes a serious provocation and an obstacle to peace.” It further
concluded that the planned expansions “would have an impact on the
economic development, transport links and the ability of the Palestinian
Authority to deliver services to its citizens,” as well as displacing
Palestinians from the region.
The report also quoted an EU
statement from December 17 stressing that “incursions by Israeli forces
into Palestinian cities where the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo
Accords assumes the powers and responsibilities for internal security
and public order, put in jeopardy the internationally recognized success
of Palestinian institution building efforts”.
And how much of a double standard is this report employing? Consider this:
By contrast, the corresponding report on human rights violations in Iran
measured half the length of that accumulated on Israel, with concerns
about the continued use of the death penalty, as well as reports of
violation of minority rights, including freedom of religion, being
detailed.
This past week, Freedom House named Israel the only free country in the Middle East, but that apparently had no effect on the Brits, who are as determined as ever to pursue their agenda of extirpating the state whose founding they did all they could to prevent.
Britain 'deeply disappointed' they have to boycott another university
British Foreign Office Minister Alastair Burt described his country as being 'deeply disappointed' that Israel is putting his country out to boycott another university - this one over the green line.
"Ariel is beyond the Green Line in a settlement that is illegal
according to international law," Burt stated. "This decision will deepen
the presence of the settlements in the Palestinian territories and will
create another obstacle to peace."
He
added that in a conversation with Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas last week, he had commended the PA's "measured response"
to the recent settlement decisions.
"We welcome that President
Abbas has publicly rejected the recent inflammatory statements by Hamas
leaders, and that he has stated clearly the position of the legitimate
Palestinian Leadership which has accepted the State of Israel in 1967
borders," Burt continued.
A few thoughts:
1. Mr. Burt might have some credibility were his country's academics not already boycotting every Israeli university that's within the 'green line' 1949 armistice lines.
2. The 'settlements' are not illegal under 'international law.' Mr. Burt might gain some credibility if he at least acknowledged the matter as being under dispute.
3. The commendation of the 'Palestinian Authority's 'measured response' is the icing on the cake. Were it not for the support of Britain and other Western countries, the 'Palestinian' end run around negotiations would not have been anywhere near the event it was.
In summary, Mr. Burt and his foreign office have little to no credibility in the eyes of Israelis and will be overwhelmingly dismissed by them. Given that Britain did more to thwart the establishment of a Jewish state than any country in the world (including the Arabs), his country starts from a point of zero credibility anyway. What is he trying to accomplish by issuing statements like this one?
While British Prime Minister David Cameron publicly calls the UK a ‘strong friend of Israel’ – previously redacted documents marked “RESTRICTED” by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have placed fresh doubts over whether Britain is as firm an ally as the Prime Minister has previously suggested.
Research papers and e-mail correspondence from within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office were supposedly redacted, however staff who compiled responses to freedom of information requests had seemingly failed to properly secure the information before it was released.
The text, which was then uncovered by TaxPayers’ Alliance Founder Matthew Elliott, reveals information about the FCO approach to Benjamin Netanyahu and the wider Middle East peace process.
Of specific interest is a document called “Research Paper FINAL” in which the following lines had previously been redacted by British Government officials:
“Netanyahu has a history of using the incitement issue as a delaying tactic in peace talks.”
and
“The history of this issue suggests that Netanyahu administrations have a tendency to charge the PA/PLO with incitement as a delaying tactic in peace talks.”
...
The redactions also state that Netanyahu is a “strong opponent of the Oslo Accords” despite his public support for a two-state solution.
Responding to Mr Hague's stark warning on condition of anonymity, a senior source within the Israeli government said that Israel received the Foreign Secretary's comments with "gravity and seriousness", adding that Israel would continue to communicate with the British government through diplomatic channels.
"There are regular talks taking place behind closed doors," the Israeli official added. "I think Mr Hague knows very well that he does not want us to share our plans with the UK because shared plans means shared responsibility, and the British government doesn't want that."
By the way, the good news is that Prime Minister Netanyahu has finally - over the past few weeks - managed to make Iran the big story rather than the 'Palestinians.' He's been trying to do that for nearly three years!
In an earlier post, I reported that the newlywed British royals William and Kate would be spending their honeymoon in Jordan. Sunday's JPost reported (print edition only) that the honeymoon is postponed because William has to fly some search and rescue missions this week. As it turns out, that excuse is every bit as flimsy as it sounds. The Sunday Telegraph reports that the real reason the honeymoon has been postponed is security.
The sudden change, announced on Saturday, came despite aides having said consistently that the honeymoon would immediately follow the wedding, and Miss Middleton shopping for sundresses and bikinis last week.
There was speculation it may have been prompted by security concerns.
The couple were originally believed to have booked a honeymoon in Jordan, where the Duchess lived for two years as a child.
The trip was thought to have included visits to the Wadi-Rum desert and the ancient city of Petra.
However, potential security hazards surrounding the continuing unrest throughout the Middle East may have prompted them to rethink their plans.
The couple left Buckingham Palace on Saturday morning after an evening reception on Friday night that lasted until after 3am.
The article goes on to say that they plan to take the trip overseas [to Jordan - unless they now change it] within a month. I doubt anything will improve there in the next month. If anything, it's only likely to get worse.
I said they should have come to Israel. His mother, the late Princess Diana, would have approved.
Britain bribed/paid Libya to let its nationals go?
The Brits apparently just love paying off the Libyans. Sky News is reporting that Britain paid Libya to allow its nationals to leave the country. The British Foreign Office has denied the report.
Let's go to the videotape.
But a spokesperson for the Foreign Office (FCO) categorically denied any bribes were paid to Libyan officials.
The FCO said in a statement: "Officials at Tripoli airport charge fees for services, such as aircraft handling.
"These charges are applied to all countries and carriers seeking to fly in or out of Tripoli airport.
The 'Palestinian Authority' hangs the Europeans out to dry
Robin Shepherd on how the Palileaks disclosure have left the Europeans in general and al-Guardian in particular hung out to dry for being more 'Palestinian' than the 'Palestinians.'
To the horror of a European political intelligentsia which has been steadfast to the point of fanatical in its opposition to Israeli “settlements” in east Jerusalem, the Palestinian leadership itself, we now know, has long accepted that the vast majority of Israeli settlements can be considered legitimate and would become part of Israel under any reasonable peace agreement.
This is utterly devastating since it simultaneously shows that everyone from the British Foreign Office and the BBC to the European Commission and the continent’s passionately anti-Israeli NGO community have been adopting a position which was significantly more uncompromising on “settlements” than the Palestinian leadership itself, and also that that same Palestinian leadership had accepted that the so called 1967 “borders” — the gold standard for practically every anti-Israeli polemic around — are irrelevant to the prospects of a lasting peace.
In one of its most resentful leader columns for years, the Guardian was nothing short of apoplectic: not so much with Israel, but with a Palestinian leadership which has effectively blown the credibility of the Guardian’s very own mantras on the MidEast straight out of the water. The Palestinian leadership, the paper declaimed, had been shown to be “weak” and “craven”. Their concessions amounted to “surrender of land Palestinians have lived on for centuries”. And, in words that look alarmingly close to the position adopted by Hamas, “The Palestinian Authority may continue as an employer but, as of today, its legitimacy as negotiators will have all but ended on the Palestinian street.” This is sheer spite.
The Palestinian leadership accepts what any reasonable person has been able to accept for decades. The Guardian then slams them as surrender monkeys. The Guardian newspaper is more hardline against Israel than the Palestinian leadership itself. And bear in mind, as you mull over the implications of that stark and unyielding state of affairs, that the Palestinian Authority is led by Mahmoud Abbas, who is a Holocaust denier.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
