Nusseibeh tells British PM EU aid to Palestinians should be cut

[notfullofit]

Sari Nusseibeh tells British Prime Minister that EU aid to Palestinians should be cut.

Date: 22 / 07 / 2008 Time: 17:22

Sari Nusseibeh, former Palestinian Authority representative in Jerusalem, and now president of Al-Quds University, said he urged British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in a meeting on Sunday to "think very seriously about stopping aid to the Palestinians."

The suggestion, aimed to shock but nonetheless apparently quite serious, ran at counter-purposes to Brown's visit to the region, which was aimed in part at promoting an "economic road map" to help improve conditions for the Palestinian people living under occupation as a kind of political incentive.

Nusseibeh told a group of journalists at a briefing in Jerusalem on Monday that he spoke during a meeting organized the day before by the British Consulate to introduce a few Jerusalem Palestinians to Brown during the British Prime Minister's visit to the region.

The British Prime Minister seemed surprised and taken aback by his suggestion. So, Nusseibeh said, he was now bringing his proposal to the media.

"My suggestion is to stop this (the European aid)," Nusseibeh said. "The money being donated is just being wasted," he said, "it is just sustaining the occupation."

Nusseibeh explained that "The Israelis are happy because they do not have to pay the cost of the occupation. The Europeans are happy because they feel they are doing their part by providing economic assistance … and the Palestinians are happy because we have jobs and we feel free."


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[pelsar]

1. there is a lot to that...

and that goes for american aid to israel.....

eliminate the money.....eliminate much of the "buffer" that keeps both societies working in a certain "comfort" zone. But they would be a very very high price to pay. The IDF would no longer be able to afford all of its sophisticated weaponry and be forced to use much cheaper less exact means......

the Palestinians with far less aid would sink deeper in poverty.....with far less means to care for their own.
____

it would be a crueler place in the short run....but maybe in the longer run end put pressure one each to solve the problems.....

[Vegasaurus]

2. I'm all for that

but the US would also have to stop sending billions to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and other rogue regimes which it supports with huge financial incentives and aid.

I would just as soon see all this aid money cease to all the countries, including Israel.

So often, people here claim that the Arabs and third worlders don't need the "imperialist, colonialist, white man's" interference.

Good. Let's see how they do without their funding either.

[LeftishBrit]

4. I'm in favour of (humanitarian) aid in general; but I am beginning to wonder whether in the I/P

case, both sides are being rewarded for NOT reaching a peace agreement. Perhaps (see my other post) cutting off funding to both sides unless they meet a deadline about such an agreement might spur them to do so. Or maybe not. We would see.

[LeftishBrit]

3. I would at any rate support its use as a threat/sanction

"You have X amount of time to come up with a peace agreement; and if you haven't done so by then, no more funding for EITHER of you!" I think it's possible that would work better than other things that have been tried so far.

[azurnoir]

5. Dont hold your breath

the problem in the US is the next election is always just 2 years away and while cutting off aid to Palestinians may go down fine, cutting off aid to Israel is another matter, any politician signing up on that one will be labeled an anti Israel or pro terrorist, not good for getting votes these days.