A recent poll found that almost all Palestinians — 95.5 percent —
believe there is corruption in Abbas' government. Nader Said, a veteran
pollster, surveyed 1,200 people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip last
month. Among Gaza residents scoring the performance of the territory's
Hamas rulers, the figure was 82 percent.
"This is the highest rate I have ever seen in all the polls I have
done," Said, who runs an independent polling agency called AWRAD, told
The Associated Press. The margin of error was 3 percentage points.
Experts say perceptions of corruption tend to be overblown. The World
Bank, for example, found in a survey of Palestinians several years ago
that far more people believed there was corruption than actually
experienced it.
But critics say secretiveness among Abbas and his advisers and a lack
of responsiveness have fanned suspicions among the public that the
political elite enjoy privileges and special deals at the expense of
everyone else.
For example, the government hasn't submitted annual budget reports
for mandatory audits for four years, effectively preventing scrutiny of
how millions of dollars are spent, said corruption monitor Aman, the
Palestinian branch of Transparency International.
...
Hamdallah's predecessor, Salam Fayyad, was credited by international
donors with making public spending more transparent. Fayyad resigned in
2013 amid tensions with Abbas and Fatah, including over the budget.
Abbas then installed Hamdallah, an academic without political experience.
"Fayyad used to host us and brief us every year," Afaneh said. "In
the current situation, we don't hear from the government or the Finance
Ministry."
Finance Ministry officials did not respond to requests for comment.
The government does post its spending plans online. But the listings are bare-boned and often puzzling, said Afaneh.
For example, out of the government's development budget of $17.9
million for the first three months of 2014, $9.4 million went for Abbas'
small presidential plane and $4.4 million for "other" expenses. A
development budget typically goes to projects that benefit the
community.
Afaneh said plane expenses shouldn't be listed under development and
that portraying one-fourth of the development budget in that quarter as
"other" raises questions.
The public has complained loudly over issues of nepotism and
disproportionately high salaries for select senior officials, some of
whom make $10,000 a month, about 10 times the average for government
employees.
"It's rare to find someone who got a job based on his
qualifications," said Diaa Abu Dhaher, 23, who has an undergraduate
degree in business administration but works as a waiter in a Ramallah
restaurant.
95.5% is the kind of number you usually see in polls in a dictatorship... oh... wait... this is a dictatorship. But usually you don't see wall-to-wall opposition to the dictator.
But the US Left and the Europeans continue to shower money on their beloved 'Palestinian Authority' because... anything to hurt the Jews.
Those villas at the top are part of the story, by the way, and they are not Jewish. They're located in Ramallah. Read the whole thing to see who owns them and how they got them. Yes, that's part of it. And this story too is part of the Obama #Legacy.
Israel is holding back channel talks with the 'Palestinian Authority' relating to Gaza, in which it is making concessions and receiving nothing in return.
This secret backchannel
of communications puts senior Israeli officials in contact with
['Palestinian Prime Minister' Rami] Hamdallah, and runs in parallel to indirect talks in Cairo between
Israel and Hamas and other Gaza terror factions. Israel and Palestinians
agreed last Tuesday to resume talks late next month on cementing a Gaza
ceasefire, allowing time for Palestinian factions to resolve their
divisions.
A senior official within
the Palestinian Authority has told Ynet that the Israeli official met
with Hamdallah on Tuesday evening, and the two discussed ways in which
Israel can alleviate the suffering of Gazans in wake of the Operation
Protective Edge.
A senior Israeli political official confirmed the report,
telling Ynet that the talks were "coordination intended to change the
situation on the ground."
...
"The goal is to make
sure that there is oversight about what is happening in Gaza, and that
can be done either with the UN or the Palestinian Authority. For the PA
to do that, we need to coordinate our moves and change the situation on
the ground for regular Gazans. The goal is to solidify the ceasefire."
The Ramallah meeting highlights the fact that communication
between Israel and the Palestinians is conducted on two levels: The
public, albeit indirect, channel in Cairo, mediated by the Egyptians and
led by Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmed, in which Hamas is also a partner;
and the secret channel, revealed here for the first time.
...
The two central
issues the sides discussed in the meeting– both of which are of the
utmost importance for Gaza's residents – are permitting men over 60 to
enter Jerusalem for religious services during the Muslim holy days, and
allowing Gaza-made produce and goods (namely, fish) to be exported to
the West Bank.
Another issue being negotiated is easing some of the restrictions
barring young Gazans from attending West Bank universities or even
studying abroad.
Other restriction-alleviating measures that were willingly conceded
by Israel have already been made public, such as an increase the number
of merchants allowed to travel from Gaza to the West Bank to 200 a day;
raising the age limit of Gazans allowed to visit family outside of the
Strip to 16; and permitting humanitarian visits for grandparents.
In the meantime, in Cairo, the delegations are working on the
toughest issue of all – the border crossings between Israel and Gaza (as
well as Gaza and Egypt) and who oversees them. The possibility that
goods made in Gaza will be exported abroad is also being discussed.
I am in favor of letting the 'Palestinian Authority' rather than the United Nations run Gaza. It's much easier diplomatically to take action against the 'Palestinian Authority' if necessary.
But Arutz Sheva reports that there is also an exchange of live terrorists for the body parts of two Israeli soldiers who were killed in the summer war that is on the verge of being finalized. Why are we once again trading live terrorists for bodies? What could go wrong?
Well, isn't this just a total shock. Here's 'Palestinian Prime Minister' Rami Hamdallah being pretty blunt about Hamas not distributing food and medical aid to the population of Gaza.
Channel 2 reported that a three-person committee made up of Maj.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai, the coordinator of government activities in the territories, UN Mideast envoy Robert Serry and PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah will supervise the [reconstruction] process and determine what goods are allowed in.
So we're relying on the UN's Serry to control the 'Palestinians.' What could go wrong?
"Based on what we know now, we intend to work with this government,"
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters. "We will
continue to evaluate the composition and policies of the new
government, and if needed, we will recalibrate our approach."
Ministers in the new administration, whom Abbas has said would be politically unaffiliated, took the oath of office in a televised ceremony in Ramallah.
Psaki said the Obama administration has no intention of cutting off aid
to the Palestinian Authority, which amounts to roughly $500 million a
year-- pivotal funding for the cash-strapped organization.
The ministers in the government "appear to be technocratic," she said,
adding that the US "will be judging this government by its actions."
US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu by phone moments before Psaki's announcement.
...
US financial aid to the Palestinian Authority through 2014 has already
been appropriated by the US Congress, but not obligated; the State
Department must approve requests for how the funds are spent, and the
PA must file those requests.
Funding for 2015 has not yet been drafted, and already, members of the appropriations committees on Capitol Hill are suggesting a cut in aid because of the deal.
Knesset Member and Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon called recognition of and aid to the new 'government' a moral dilemma.
"You cannot play a game with this, the same way you cannot hide the
fact that Hamas is a terrorist organization," Danon said. "You look at
the wording of the law, it says its not a Hamas appointment but the
involvement of Hamas. And its a moral decision today that the
administration has to make, whether they believe the unity government
is bad and whether they will follow the law."
I would say that the choice that the Obama-Kerry administration made today was an immoral one, because it brings another terror organization in out of the cold. Danon seems to agree.
Danon said the Palestinian Authority would not collapse if the US
cut aid, as the administration has suggested; they have other sources
of funding, the minister said. But "it will make it harder for them,"
he added.
"Very clearly," Danon added, appropriations law from
the US Congress stipulates that, "if there is a unity government with
Hamas, no funding shall be transferred to the PA." Danon also took
meetings at the Pentagon during his visit to Washington.
It sounds like the cow has fled the barn for 2014, but with the 2015 budget and midterm elections coming up, I doubt Congress will appropriate money for these creeps for next year.
Anyone want to take bets on how long it will take until Mr. Hamdullah gets invited to Washington? I'd say invitation goes out November 5 and carries a date in early December.
Hamas 'President' Ismail Haniyeh and his 'cabinet' have resigned to make way for the 'unity government.'
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his "cabinet" in Gaza have resigned, Hamas spokeswoman Israa al-Mudallal said, "paving the way for the new ministers of the consensus government."
Haniyeh welcomed the new cabinet as "a government of one people and one political system."
"We're leaving the government, but not the nation. We're leaving the ministries but not the question of the nation," Haniyeh said in a televised speech.
...
Haniyeh's step down, meanwhile, is a dramatic about-face, after Hamas was adamant over
its full control of a "unity" government, expressing over and over
again that it would remain in control of both Gaza and the PA after
elections and insisting that Haniyeh would rule the government.
More recently, Hamas announced that any "unity" government would be unequivocally subject to their approval before being established.
The group’s charter calls for the destruction of Israel, and at least one top official has ruled out the possibility that Hamas will recognize “the Zionist entity,” even after the unity pact with Fatah.
Until the next coup.... So when will Rami Hamdullah be visiting Gaza? Heh.
'Palestinian unity government' sworn in; US okays payments to terrorists
The 'Palestinian' unity government was sworn in on Monday after a last minute disagreement over a 'prisoners affairs' minister was sorted out.
At the inauguration ceremony, Abbas said the new government would
abide by commitments made by previous Palestinian administrations and by
agreements ratified by the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization, a
reference to interim accords with Israel.
The unity government
had appeared to be in danger earlier Monday when Hamas informed Fatah it
would not recognize a unity government that did not have a Ministry for
Prisoners Affairs.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said his
movement would consider the Palestinian Authority president's
announcement of the new government a "unilateral" step. Hamas, he
added, "will not recognize this announcement."
But Hamas official
Salah Al-Bardaweel later said it was agreed that the ministry would be
given to Prime Minister Rami Al-Hamdallah, "and the dispute between
Hamas and Fatah has been resolved."
The reason Abu Bluff suddenly didn't want a ministry of 'prisoner affairs' was that he was afraid of how it would look to the West if his new junta was paying monthly 'salaries' to Hamas terrorists. As if they hadn't been paying until now or as if the Fatah terrorists are any better.
Despite the overwhelming evidence, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Ambassador Anne W. Patterson, defended the PA practice of paying salaries to terrorists in jail before Congress last week, saying "they have to provide for the families."
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters in
Washington on Friday: “There has been no invitation issued to Prime
Minister Hamdallah.”
A reporter pushed her on the matter and
asked: “So the claim made by this Palestinian official is just plain
false?” Psaki answered: “Correct.”
But lest you get your hopes up, that doesn't mean an invitation won't be issued.
She and US National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan
said that the US has not recognized the new government and is still
waiting for more information on the matter.
“As we have said all
along, we will not make decisions until we see the final formation of
the interim government and have the opportunity to assess and make a
determination about whether this is a government we can work with,”
Meehan told The Jerusalem Post.
“We have been clear
about the principles that must guide a Palestinian government in order
for it to play a constructive role in achieving peace and building an
independent state,” she said.
“Any Palestinian government must
unambiguously and explicitly commit to nonviolence, recognition of the
State of Israel and acceptance of previous agreements and oblgations
between the parties,” Meehan said.
She said that “President Abbas has been committed to these principles.”
He has? That's funny, I thought the 'peace talks' broke up over 'President Abbas' refusal to recognize that Israel is a Jewish state. Silly me.
To shore up their claim for recognition, the Palestinians on
Thursday said that US President Barack Obama has sent a letter to Abbas
affirming Washington’s commitment to reaching a two-state solution.
Although the language used did not mention the unity government, it
still gave the reader the impression that Washington was willing to
work with it.
Several Palestinian news agencies published excerpts from the purported letter.
“As
I emphasized during our meeting, the United States remains deeply
committed to a negotiated outcome between Palestinians and Israelis
that result in an independent, viable and a contiguous Palestinian
state living in peace alongside the State of Israel,” Obama reportedly
said in his letter. “I am hopeful we can continue to work closely
together to achieve this goal and further strengthen the bonds between
our two peoples.”
Meehan said in response that “the letter was a
standard protocol thank-you letter from the gift exchange during
President Abbas’s visit to Washington in March. The letter was not new,
and had no language discussing the interim government.
So who's lying and isn't it sad that we even have to ask? Well, here's my bet. Sometime after November 4, 2014, an invitation will be issued to Rami Hamdallah or whoever is the 'President of Palestine' to visit Washington and/or meet with President Hussein Obama - regardless of whom Hamdallah or someone else represents, and regardless of whether or not any pious platitudes have escaped the collective mouth of the Hamas-Fatah unity government.
The Obama-Kerry administration has recognized the Hamas-Fatah terror coalition as the 'government' of 'Palestine.' They have invited the new 'Prime Minister' to Washington.
According to a report by Maariv on Friday, a Palestinian official stated that the invitation is decleration of American recognition for the unity government . The official added, "The visit will take place in June, during which
[Rami] Hamdallah will meet with American president and visit the US Congress."
Head of the Fatah reconciliation team , Azam al-Ahmad said that, "The
US administration has renounced its previous disapproval of the national
unity government and will no support the new government."
Washington has previously announced that it expects any Palestinian
government to refrain from violence as well as recognize Israel and
agreements.
They also said that they were reconsidering US assistance to the 'Palestinian Authority.' I wonder whether that is still on the table.
'Palestinian Prime Minister' Rami Hamdallah unresigns
Nearly two months after he resigned as 'Palestinian Prime Minister' after a dispute with 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen over his authority, 'Palestinian Prime Minister' Rami Hamdallah has unresigned.
Officials said the men had worked out their differences but details of their agreement were not released.
Officials say Abbas asked Hamdallah on Tuesday to form a new
government, and he accepted the request. Government spokesman Ihab
Bsaiso says "there will be a new government and a new swearing-in
ceremony."
Hamdallah has five weeks to form a new Cabinet. Officials said they do
not expect many changes from the current caretaker government.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, who announced on Thursday that he was quitting just two weeks after taking office.
"The
president accepted the resignation of the prime minister and designated
him to head an interim government," Abbas spokesman Abu Rudeineh said.
The announcement came after a PA official had claimed over the weekend that Hamdallah had retracted his resignation.
The 'Palestinians' are like a bunch of circus clowns who cannot get their act together. Let me guess: Next they're going to tell us that Israel forced him to resign....
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah retracted his
resignation on Friday evening, after a meeting with PA President Mahmoud
Abbas in Ramallah, a PA official told the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news
agency.
The two met after attempts on Thursday night by Abbas's top aide to persuade Hamdallah not to resign were unsuccessful.
Hamdallah abruptly submitted his resignation on Thursday after less than a month on the job.
Despite
confirmation from the PA source, an official announcement has not been
issued yet, and Hamdallah did not talk to any of the reporters waiting
outside the meeting, Ma'an reported.
So far, nothing on his Twitter feed either, although he is now up to 252 followers. That doesn't sound very impressive (it's not), but it's about 215 more than the moron who trolls me several times a day, hoping I will give him exposure by retweeting him.
This is real. This is the Twitter feed of 'Palestinian Prime Minister' Rami Hamdallah (Hat Tip: Lahav Harkov).
By the way, the Twitter feed is real, but now that he resigned , he has 179 followers instead of the 54 he had in Lahav's screen cap. That's not very impressive, but the increase shows just how important the 'Palestinian Authority' government isn't.... Hamdallah has more than three times as many followers now that he's not 'Prime Minister.' Heh.
That was quick: 'Palestinian Prime Minister' Rami Hamdallah resigns
Less than a month after he was appointed, 'Palestinian Prime Minister' Rami Hamdallah has submitted his resignation. 'Moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen has not yet decided whether to accept the resignation. The reason for the resignation is apparently that Abu Mazen wants him to be a yes-man.
A source close to Hamdallah said that he submitted his letter of
resignation to Hussein al-A'raj, director of the PA president's bureau.
The
source attributed the resignation to a power struggle between Hamdallah
and his two deputies - Mohamed Mustafa and Ziad Abu Amr - who were
appointed by Abbas.
"The prime minister feels that his deputies have been encroaching on his powers," the source said.
After
submitting his resignation, Hamdallah left his office in Ramallah alone
and drove in his private car to his home in the village of Anabta in
the northern West Bank.
A senior PA official told the
Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency that Hamdallah had not clashed with
Abbas. The official said that the real dispute was between Hamdallah and
his two deputies.
On Thursday evening, senior PA officials headed from Ramallah to Hamdallah's home to persuade him to withdraw his resignation.
Another
source said that Hamdallah, who was appointed by Abbas on June 2,
quickly found himself in the same situation as his predecessor, Salam
Fayyad.
"Hamdallah discovered that the Palestinian Authority
president wants him to serve as a yes man with no powers," the source
explained. "Abbas wanted a prime minister who would play no role and
only carry out orders from the president's office."
Abbas's
decision to appoint two deputy prime ministers with expanded powers to
the new government was the first sign of the PA president's intention to
curtail the powers of Hamdallah.
Some Palestinians pointed out
that the real prime minister was Deputy Prime Minister for Economic
Affairs, Mohamed Mustafa, who also serves as the director of the PLO's
Palestine Investment Fund.
Mustafa was initially reported to be
Abbas's favored candidate to replace Fayyad. It remains unclear,
however, why Abbas finally preferred Hamdallah over Mustafa.
"Hamdallah
quit because he was lacking any authorities," said Palestinian
political analyst Hani al-Masri. "He discovered that he was just another
employee with the rank of prime minister. He had two deputies who were
in charge of the political and economic portfolios."
You don't think Abu Mazen is insecure or something, do you?
'Palestinian Authority' says they're $4.2 billion in debt
New 'Palestinian' 'Prime Minister' Rami Hamdallah has no experience in government or politics, and he's starting out facing a 'more than difficult' financial crisis caused by skyrocketing debt.
Mustafa, who was speaking to reporters in
Ramallah following the new PA government’s first weekly meeting, said that the
PA’s local debts were estimated at $1.2 billion - $600 million to banks and $480
million to the Palestinian Petroleum Authority.
Mustafa serves as deputy
prime minister for economic affairs – a job that makes him the de facto finance
minister.
Until his appointment last week, Mustafa served as director of
the PLO’s Palestine Investment Fund.
The PA’s external debts, he said,
have reached $1 billion. Failure to pay this debt has resulted in fines
estimated at $100 million, Mustafa added.
The PA also owes another $1
billion to the Palestinian Pension Fund, he said.
He said that the PA was
in need of financial aid to pay salaries to its employees in the coming
months.
The PA will have to increase tax collection, cut expenses and
seek additional funding from donor countries, Mustafa said.
There are some obvious ways for the 'Palestinian Authority' to cut expenses. One is to stop paying salaries to terrorists and their families, including to those who belong to Hamas. That would cut 6% of the budget right there. Then if they laid off some of their ubiquitous 'security services' and consolidated the rest like they were supposed to do years ago, that would cut the budget more. Of course, to do that without leaving people to starve, they'd have to develop an economy, and the 'Palestinians' have done nothing on that front in the nearly 20 years since Oslo.
Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
concurs. He tells me, “Hamdallah is an obscure academic with no
experience in governing. His appointment marks a consolidation of power
for Mahmoud Abbas. He is expected to be a ‘yes man’ — the opposite of
Salam Fayyad, who openly disagreed with the Palestinian president on
core issues, including transparency and institution building.” What is
really going on here is the consolidation of corrupt Fatah’s authority.
(Fayyad was never a Fatah member, which in large part accounted for his
independence and the antipathy he generated.) Schanzer observes,
“Unfortunately, Abbas is not only getting a weak prime minister. He is
also weakening the institution of the position. This means less checks
and balances in the Palestinian political system. Abbas, who is already
four years past the end of his legal presidential term, has taken the
institution of the presidency back to the future.”
It is noteworthy that the most significant accomplishment regarding
the PA in the past few years was the ejection of Yasser Arafat and the
division of authority between the president and prime minister. Now, as
Schanzer notes, Abbas’s “ironclad grip on Palestinian politics rivals
that of Yasser Arafat in his prime.”
'Moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen has appointed British-educated English professor Rami Hamdullah as his new 'Prime Minister.' Hamdullah replaces Salam Fayyad.
The Wafa agency said Abbas appointed academic Rami Hamdullah on Sunday
evening. Hamdullah replaces Salam Fayyad, a respected U.S.-educated
economist who was seen as being too independent and frequently clashed
with Abbas.
Hamdullah is a member of the Fatah Party led by Abbas. He is now tasked with forming a new technocratic government.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.
Hamdullah has no prior political or government experience. He is a
British-educated English professor and dean of al-Najah University in
the West Bank.
Back in April, I reported that Hamdullah, the President of an-Najah University, was a candidate for the position.
I'm sure that the US and the Europeans would be thrilled to have
Hamdallah. Educated in Jordan and England, Hamdallah has been the president of An-Najah since 1998. The picture below was taken at An-Najah University in September 2001, a month after the Sbarro suicide bombing took place:
And indeed, US Secretary of State John FN Kerry has rushed to laud Hamdullah.
In a congratulatory statement, Kerry said Hamdallah's appointment
"comes at a moment of challenge, which is also an important moment of
opportunity."
Kerry also praised Fayyad for his contributions to Palestinian institutions.
Kerry is scheduled to address the three-day American Jewish Committee
parley on Monday and discuss his ongoing efforts to get the sides back
to the table.
He is also expected to visit Jordan “within days” to continue
efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Jordanian Foreign Minister
Nassar Judeh said in Ramallah on Sunday following talks with Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
"Together, we can choose the
path of a negotiated two-state settlement that will allow Palestinians
to fulfill their legitimate aspirations, and continue building the
institutions of a sovereign and independent Palestinian state that will
live in peace, security, and economic strength alongside Israel," Kerry
said in the statement addressing Hamdallah's appointment.
Hamas has described Hamdullah's appointment as 'illegal' because it was not approved by the 'Palestinian Legislative Council, and if the rule of law existed in the 'Palestinian Authority,' Hamas would be correct.
Hamas denies that Abbas has the authority
to appoint Salam Fayyad as prime minister, because Abbas is not legally
the president of Palestine under Article 65 and because Fayyad has not
been empowered as prime minister by the Palestinian Legislative Council
as required by Article 66 of the Basic Law. Neither his first
appointment, on June 15, 2007, nor his reappointment on May 19, 2009,
was confirmed by the PLC as required. Hamas, which controls the majority
in the PLC, considers the legal prime minister of the Palestinian
Authority to continue to be Ismail Haniyeh, a senior political leader of
Hamas. Haniyeh was empowered by the PLC to be prime minister of
Palestine in February 2006. Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from the office on
June 14, 2007, after the Gaza coup, but Haniyeh counters that this
decree violated articles 45, 78, and 83 and that he continues to
exercise prime ministerial authority under Article 83. The PLC also
continues to recognize Haniyeh's authority as prime minister. Here
again, Hamas has the law on its side.
So let's sum this up: Abu Mazen has illegally appointed as Prime Minister someone with no government or political experience, who has spent the last 15 years as President of a university that has served as a center of terrorism, and who is not acceptable to the majority party in his own 'legislative council.'
US Secretary of State John FN Kerry must have really been grasping at straws when he 'lauded' this appointment. It's not like Hamdullah was appointed Commissioner of the IRS or to some other position whose only job is supposed to be persecuting Obama's enemies.
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
