Just remember - the U.S. and Israel caused the current Palestinian civil war too.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

First, we take sides:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/21/AR2006012101431.html
U.S. Funds Enter Fray In Palestinian Elections
Bush Administration Uses USAID as Invisible Conduit

Sunday, January 22, 2006

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- The Bush administration is spending foreign aid money to increase the popularity of the Palestinian Authority on the eve of crucial elections in which the governing party faces a serious challenge from the radical Islamic group Hamas.

The approximately $2 million program is being led by a division of the U.S. Agency for International Development. But no U.S. government logos appear with the projects or events being undertaken as part of the campaign, which bears no evidence of U.S. involvement and does not fall within the definitions of traditional development work.

Then our side loses:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/26/AR2006012600372.html

Hamas Sweeps Palestinian Elections, Complicating Peace Efforts in Mideast

Friday, January 27, 2006

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan. 26 -- The radical Islamic movement Hamas won a large majority in the new Palestinian parliament, according to official election results announced Thursday, trouncing the governing Fatah party in a contest that could dramatically reshape the Palestinians' relations with Israel and the rest of the world.

In Wednesday's voting, Hamas claimed 76 of the 132 parliamentary seats, giving the party at war with Israel the right to form the next cabinet under the Palestinian Authority's president, Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of Fatah.

Then we respond by undermining the winning side: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/14/international/middleeast/14mideast.html?ei=5088&en=957986e4a40ff0c2&ex=1297573200&partner=rssn&pagewanted=print

U.S. and Israelis Are Said to Talk of Hamas Ouster

JERUSALEM, Feb. 13 — The United States and Israel are discussing ways to destabilize the Palestinian government so that newly elected Hamas officials will fail and elections will be called again, according to Israeli officials and Western diplomats.

The intention is to starve the Palestinian Authority of money and international connections to the point where, some months from now, its president, Mahmoud Abbas, is compelled to call a new election. The hope is that Palestinians will be so unhappy with life under Hamas that they will return to office a reformed and chastened Fatah movement.

Then we take crippling action: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4729000.stm

Israel to impose Hamas sanctions
Israel's cabinet has approved punitive sanctions on the Palestinian Authority, now dominated by militant group Hamas.

Israel will withhold an estimated $50m (£28m) in monthly customs revenues due to the PA, as well as impose travel restrictions on Hamas members.

Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the PA was becoming a "terrorist authority" and ruled out any contact with a Hamas-led government.

Israel would allow humanitarian aid to reach the Palestinians, Mr Olmert said.

-----------------------------

Make no mistake about it, ladies and gentlemen - WE are the cause of the Palestinian civil war. By denying the sovereignty of a democratically elected government and actively and literally destroying what little economy they had, we created the conditions for this civil war to occur.

[Tom Joad]

1. The purpose of the sanctions on the Palestinian people was to make them hungry.

The Hamas team had not laughed so much in a long time. The team, headed by the prime minister's advisor Dov Weissglas and including the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, the director of the Shin Bet and senior generals and officials, convened for a discussion with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on ways to respond to the Hamas election victory. Everyone agreed on the need to impose an economic siege on the Palestinian Authority, and Weissglas, as usual, provided the punch line: "It's like an appointment with a dietician. The Palestinians will get a lot thinner, but won't die," the advisor joked, and the participants reportedly rolled with laughter. And, indeed, why not break into laughter and relax when hearing such a successful joke? If Weissglas tells the joke to his friend Condoleezza Rice, she would surely laugh too.
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=9785
From an article by Israeli activist Gideon Levy

[EFerrari]

2. I'm listening to a report on Amy's show right now about how

we are funding militias in Gaza. And guess whose bright idea this was? Good old Eliot Abrams who did the same thing in Nicaragua.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

5. Who the fuck lets this guy do anything?!

Seriously, who thinks this guy has EVER had a good idea?!

[EFerrari]

10. These bastards are still with us and they're screwing up

even better this time. None of the proxy wars are going well. :shrug:

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

11. Proxy wars have NEVER gone well.

Because it's nearly impossible to even get a puppet to do exactly what you want it to do. Hell, does someone have a running tally of failed proxy wars that we've tried to fight? Cuba, 80's Afghanistan, 2000's Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Guatemala, 80's Iran, 90's Iran, 90's Iraq, 2000's Iraq, Vietnam... Sadly, this is probably not even the beginning of the short list. God only knows what the CIA's tried to do.

[still_one]

3. Really, don't the Palestinians and the other countries in the region have any responsibility?

The issue is far more complex than you are presenting it.

There is no question that the bush administration did not continue the dialog that Clinton had established, and helped deteroriate the situation. It is also well known that they worked to prevent any dialog between Israel, Syria, and other parties in the region.

They also threw a wrench in the sunshine talks between North and South Korea, which also undid everything Clinton had accomplished, and pushed North Korea toward nuclear proliferation

The refusal of the bush administration to engage in any meaningful dialog has caused much grief, however, that should NOT have prevented other parties, OR countries from engaging

Can the civil war in Darfur, be laid totally on China? I don't believe so, responsibilty also exists with the whole region, and for that matter the world

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

6. WE DIRECTLY DESTROYED THEIR ECONOMY!

Not Saudi Arabia. Not Syria. Not Lebanon. Israel and the U.S. did. NO ONE ELSE.

[still_one]

7. Did anything stop Saudi Arabia or the other OIL RICH countries from aid?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

8. Did they withhold $700 million in tax revenues from Palestine?

No, that was Israel. Money that was rightfully the property of a democratically elected government. That was NOT aid.

And no - those countries aren't even aiding their OWN poor.

[still_one]

9. Withholding the money was wrong, but much more is involved also

Arafat stole millions from the Palestinians, and there has always been a power struggle between Fatah and Hamas.

What needs to be done is a dialog between all parties, but I doubt very much it will happen until the bush administion is out

[truedelphi]

12. Well let's see - the Palestinians should have been responsible

Enough back in 1948 to not have been living inside a country for thousands of years that another group of people wanted to claim as their homeland. <sarcasm>

[aquart]

4. Yes. Israel was wrong to withhold the money.

But you would be wrong to assume the civil war wouldn't have happened anyway.