Bernie Sanders Wants to Cut Aid for Israel and Give It to Hamas [Part 2] by Hugh Fitzgerald

Bernie Sanders does not appear to know that whatever “humanitarian crisis” there may be in Gaza, it is not Israel, but Hamas that has caused it. Hamas has harmed the Gazan Arabs in several ways. First, despite the fact that Gazans have received many billions of dollars in aid, the fantastic corruption of its leaders has siphoned off a good deal of it. Both Khaled Meshal, the former head of Hamas’ political wing, who now lives in Qatar, and Moussa Abu Marzouk, a senior leader of Hamas who now lives in Egypt, have each amassed fortunes of at least $2.5 billion; some Arab investigators believe that Meshaal may now have as much as $5 billion. This amount, of between $5 and $7.5 billion, was meant to be aid for the people of Gaza. Israel had nothing to do with such a diversion of funds. Ismail Haniyeh, the current leader of Hamas, is reported to now have his own fortune of tens of millions of dollars, for he receives the proceeds of a 20% tax on all goods smuggled into Gaza from Egypt. In addition, there are at least 600 “Hamas millionaires” living in Gaza. There are no signs that Hamas leaders will end this corruption; they, after all, are the prime beneficiaries.

The second way that Hamas has caused a “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza is by misusing funds meant for such things as residential housing, improvements to energy infrastructure so as to avoid frequent power cuts, and wastewater treatment plants (such as the North Gaza Wastewater Treatment Plant, finally put into operation in 2018 after years of delay, paid for entirely by foreign – European – donors. including the World Bank). Instead of undertaking such improvements, all of which would instantly improve the lives of the Gazan Arabs, Hamas chooses to use that aid in building a huge military armory; rockets and missiles are expensive. And when Hamas uses part of that armory in an effort to rain death down on Israeli towns, it is not just Hamas, but all the Gazans, who suffer from the inevitable retaliation.

If Bernie Sanders were willing to do a little investigating – less than a half-hour of googling would do — he could find out about the fantastic theft of many billions in aid money by Hamas leaders, about the use for military purposes of much of the aid that remains, instead of spending it on reconstruction for the sake of Gazan civilians. He would discover that Israel’s “blockade” does not extend to food, nor, any longer, to fuel. And he would learn about the thousands of rockets that Hamas has hurled at Israel. He would also find out about Hamas’ blood-curdling threats to kill not just all Israelis, but all Jews, everywhere.

He would find out that Israel tried, from the very moment it left Gaza, to help it inhabitants economically. Israel turned over, as a turn-key business, the 3,000 greenhouses that the Palestinians could have continued to run and expand, in an operation worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Instead, they chose to destroy them. Israeli employers also hired tens of thousands of Gazans, to work both in Gaza and in Israel, and only cut back later on such employment for security reasons.

Here’s what, having duly informed himself, Bernie Sanders could say about Gaza:

“I am deeply concerned about the ordinary people of Gaza, who are held in thrall by Hamas, a terrorist group that continues to attack Israel’s civilians with rockets and mortar fire. Billions of dollars have been given by aid groups to Gaza, too much of which ends up in the coffers of Hamas, the terrorist group that rules Gaza with an iron fist. And Hamas leaders have diverted billions – think of that, billions! – of that aid to themselves. Two of its top leaders, Khaled Meshaal and Moussa Abu Marzouk, have managed to amass fortunes of $2.5-5 billion and $2.5 billion respectively. In addition, the current leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, is said to now have a fortune of tens of millions of dollars; there are 600 Hamas members in Gaza who are believed to be millionaires, all of those fortunes are in the midst of so much poverty among the ordinary Gazans. I think that the people of Gaza deserve to have that money returned, clawed back, for their benefit.

“I also think that Hamas should be shifting its priorities. Instead of spending money on expensive rockets and missiles, the use of which by Hamas only brings Israeli retribution, and does not improve the life of a single Gazan, all the aid money should go to reconstruction of housing, power plants, the electric grid, and waste-water management. Let every penny of that aid money be used to improve the lives of ordinary Gazans, instead of enriching a handful of Hamas leaders..

“And there is another thing that has always disturbed me. Why is it that tens of billions of dollars in aid have been given by the West, including the United States, as aid to the Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank, while so little is given to them by their fellow Arabs? Why can’t the Gulf Arabs come through with real money to help the Palestinians, and not just with a billion here and a billion there? Those Gulf Arabs have annual incomes of tens, and in some cases even receive hundreds of billions of dollars; surely they can spare some for the Arabs of Gaza and the West Bank? At that meeting in Manama, $50 billion in aid for the Palestinians was discussed – a sum that really would make a difference in the lives of Palestinians. And the Gulf Arabs can easily afford that. I call on them to contribute their fair share, without further excuses or delays.

“And to make sure that corrupt leaders do not again help themselves to much of that aid, or spend it on weapons, the disbursal of the aid should be the responsibility of financial technocrats assigned to the task by a U.N. oversight committee. Let’s see how that arrangement fares, and let’s for decency’s sake please stop – and I am ashamed to say that I was one of them – blaming Israel for the Gazans’ plight.”

RELATED ARTICLES:

France: Senator compares veiled women to “Halloween witches,” critics seek parliamentary sanctions against him

France: No joy over death of al-Baghdadi, as the Islamic State has “inexorably altered” the fabric of daily life

Minnesota: “Dangerous” Muslim migrants conspired to export drone parts and technology to Hizballah