http://www.eufunding.org An independent look at the role of European funding in the Middle East en-us http://www.eufunding.org/terror/European_Taxpayers_Contributions_Destined_for_Hamas.html Hamas has been declared a terrorist organisation by the USA and the EU. In June 2007, the Funding for Peace Coalition (FPC) reported how the TIM support system is being exploited, resulting in millions being transferred to the proponents of corruption and violence. Sun, 12 Aug 2007 14:37:35 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/accountability/Nielson12.html Brad Neilson: New evidence just published by Palestinian sources throws light on claims made here and elsewhere during the last five years that corruption is, and has long been, endemic to the Palestinian ruling elite. The scale and significance of the corruption continue to be the subject of controversy. But the fact of the looted funds no longer is. Thur, 2 Aug 2007 11:53:23 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/accountability/AfterTIMEUOffersARefreshingSuggestionForFutureAid.html President Mahmoud Abbas has dismissed his Hamas rivals from the Palestinian parliament. He has appointed the internationally respected and independent Salam Fayyad as Prime Minister. Together with a Hamas-free emergency cabinet, these are the moves, which donor countries have been waiting for. Mon, 2 July 2007 07:47:53 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/accountability/EUsTemporaryInternationalMechanism.html The Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) began its work in June 2006. Made up of the EU, Norway, Switzerland and other countries, it is designed to facilitate and enhance the welfare of Palestinians, whilst avoiding distributing monies to Hamas. Services include the payment of various public servants, securing fuel distribution and providing health care. Sun, 24 June 2007 07:53:16 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/Realpolitik/The_Gaza_Experience_A_Key_Lesson for_Donors.html Much has been written as to why Gaza fell to the Hamas military wing - not its political leadership - and so quickly. A particularly astute analysis has been provided by the Palestinian writer, Khaled Abu Toameh, a regular contributor to the Israeli newspaper "The Jerusalem Post". Abu Toameh concludes that the writing has long been on the wall. Tues, 19 June 2007 09:42:25 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/terror/Gaza_To_Give_Or_Not_To_Give.html The conquest of the Gaza Strip by Hamas places European donors in a quandary. If they continue to distribute aid in Gaza, will they be helping Palestinians and thus securing a healthier peace process? Or will this support simply find increased violence in the region -- against Israeli and Palestinian alike? Mon, 18 June 2007 08:09:13 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/Realpolitik/Salam_Fayyad_Palestinian_Finance_Minister_Again.html Dr Salam Fayyad has been traveling the diplomatic capitals of the world, having recently been appointed, for a second time, to the position of the Palestinian Minister of Finance. Fayyad's challenge is enormous. It will be interesting to see if he can recoup the fortunes squandered by his Hamas predecessors. Sun, 22 April 2007 11:05:42 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/reports/default.html There is substantial evidence to show how and to where international aid directed to the Palestinian Authority has been diverted away from intended destinations. The result is that under the existing systems, external support for the Palestinians has neither led to substantial reductions in poverty nor reaped a peace dividend. Thur, 19 April 2007 14:06:04 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/terror/EU_and_UK_Officially_Paying_for_Hamas_Security_Personnel.html Britain and others will now be paying for the salaries of gunmen, who operate according to unacceptable levels of social mores and who reject the existence of the EU's largest trading partner in the Middle East. Sun, 18 February 2007 08:45:44 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/Realpolitik/Donors_Accept_Arguments_of_Funding_for_Peace_Coalition.html The Funding for Peace Coalition has maintained that recent efforts of international donors for Palestinians are assisting an arms race rather than helping the average family. FPC members will be delighted to learn that their campaigning has had some considerable success this month. The destination of new funding is being carefully reviewed before its release. Sun, 18 February 2007 08:32:55 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/newsletters/2007_02.html Aid for Palestinian poverty or a Middle East arms race? A plea to end the folly. The Funding for Peace Coalition (FPC) has identified a new and increasingly dangerous trend in the "game of giving" to the Palestinians. Tue, 13 February 2007 08:46:50 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/terror/The_Hamas_Government's_First_Fiscal_Budget.html The World Bank has consistently insisted that two conditions must be met if the Palestinian economy is ever to recover its ability to support a viable state; fiscal control, aided by a reduction in the ever-increasing numbers in the civil service. The Hamas has just announced its plans for the 2007 budget. The declared intention is to raise yet again the level of personnel on the public payroll. Specifically, 25,000 extras are to be added to the burgeoning "security personnel" payroll. Mon, 5 February 2007 08:35:50 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/accountability/How_Europe_Continues_To_Fund_Violence.html The stories from Gaza in the European papers are concentrating increasingly on the spiraling internal violence. Despite high unemployment and a struggling economy, all sides are prepared to plough valuable resources into violence rather than securing peace. And yet, in parallel, Western governments continue with the mistakes of the past. Donations continue to flood into the Palestinian territories. Ostensibly, the aid is secured in the name of improving humanitarian conditions. In practice, there is no visible attempt to track where the money ends up. Mon, 5 February 2007 08:26:16 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/terror/Abbas.html In January 2007, Israel eventually released $100m of Palestinian money, which she had collected but withheld, to the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas. The declared aim was to use the transfer for humanitarian purposes. It has since emerged that the cash would join a fund supplied by Saudi Arabia and others to pay for "security forces", currently locked in battle with Hamas. Mon, 5 February 2007 08:00:14 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/accountability/ArmsRace.html The Funding for Peace Coalition is increasingly concerned that external funding received by the Palestinians is no longer driven by the humiliations of poverty. Instead, the Western desire to suppress fanatical Islamic influences in the region is seeing aid being used as a tool in an increasingly single-minded arms race. The promotion of peace through better standards of living is fading into a long-forgotten dream. Sun, 28 January 2007 15:23:25 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/Realpolitik/Iran.html For years, the European Union has boasted of its role as the largest single financial supporter of the Palestinians, both with direct and indirect aid. With the political rise of Hamas, this dominant role has been usurped by the fundamentalists in Tehran. Sun, 21 January 2007 07:38:31 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/Realpolitik/WesternTaxpayers.html The question is why hand over Western money to Abbas? Why train militias of Fatah in the Palestinian Authority (PA)? Wed, 10 January 2007 00:08:30 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/More_Information.html Israeli - Palestinian ProCon.org added Wed, 10 January 2007 09:28:01 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/accountability/WhenEuropeInvests.html The European Investment Bank (EIB), the financing arm of EU policies, announced that it intends to fund hundreds of environmental projects in Israel. This is the first such series of projects since 1995. Wed, 10 January 2007 08:54:08 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/accountability/CashSmuggling.html The issues involved are more than mere technicalities. The EU wishes to choke the supply of cash which funds the terrorist attacks that destroy normal life on both sides of the border. Unfortunately, the immediate effect of these incidents impacts on the average Palestinian. Border closures as a result of these capricious acts mean uncertainty, frustration, long queues and a disruption to trade. The pride of the ruling Palestinian elite has yet again triumphed over the daily needs of the individual. Mon, 1 January 2007 11:33:28 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/accountability/AbbasHomeTruths.html The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, has broken protocol, and been candid in his criticism of many of the faults of the Palestinian leadership. Aside from the complaints about Hamas, President Abbas also tackled the issue of transparency, a theme close to the hearts of members of the Funding for Peace Coalition. Sun, 31 December 2006 16:06:41 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/terror/TrainFatah.html The Funding for Peace Coalition (FPC) has commented on numerous occasions that funding official Palestinian Security Services, such as the police or army, cannot be seen in isolation. All these groups have direct and indirect links to the Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades, associated with Fatah, or similar para-military bodies of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. They have taken pride in their attacks on Israeli civilians, and often been involved in the murder of civilians of other nationalities - even their fellow Palestinians. Sun, 31 December 2006 15:55:54 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/accountability/Nielson11.html Since the cessation of the war in Lebanon, Palestinian officials have played up the notion that their government is lacking funds. Ironically, there is no official method to monitor the issue. Following the election of Hamas, the Palestinian Finance Ministry has ceased to publish its accounts on the Internet. Thur, 16 November 2006 18:00:02 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/newsletters/2006_11.html Using international aid to help reduce poverty is an established, and still welcome, concept. What is increasingly disturbing for monitors of international aid is the manner in which the previous mistakes, which allowed vast sums to be diverted to Palestinian corruption and terror, are being repeated in current dealings - and not just with the Palestinians. Thur, 9 November 2006 18:00:10 GMT http://www.eufunding.org/reports/2006_Oct_Report.html The Funding for Peace Coalition calls on all donor countries to find a moral set of proposals; proposals which will show with evident transparency that projects can be established on behalf of the Palestinians themselves, and not just for an oligarchic leadership. Economic growth, especially established in partnership with economic neighbours, can only benefit all seekers of peace in the region. Tues, 17 October 2006 09:50:37 GMT