Aiding Gazan Palestinians

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Hundreds of protesters on Wednesday tried to storm the Gaza headquarters of the United Nations, an AFP correspondent said, after the UN announced it lacked funds to rebuild the enclave from the damage caused by Hamas's most recent terror war against Israel.

"Over 96,000 Palestine refugee family homes were damaged or destroyed during last summer’s conflict and US $720 million is required to address this need. To date, UNRWA has received only US $135 million in pledges, leaving a shortfall of US $585 million. While some funds remain available to begin the reconstruction of totally destroyed homes, UNRWA has exhausted all funding to support repairs and rental subsidies."
"It is unclear why this funding has not been forthcoming. …UNRWA has been a stabilizing factor in a very challenging political and security context and if we cannot continue the program, it will have grave consequences for affected communities in  Gaza."
Robert Turner, director, Gaza UNRWA

Just possibly, former donors, from Middle East nations to European and North American countries are experiencing donor fatigue for Gaza. For a territory ruled by terrorists who continually attack and goad a neighbour until repeated rocket attacks on nearby Israeli communities across the border from Gaza have utterly exhausted Israeli patience, and the nation sends in its military to put a stop to the attacks and the tunnelling enterprises enabling terrorists to gain the opportunity to attack vulnerable Israeli communities.

Not that Israel hasn't been permitting construction materials through the blockade, for it has. But it is also known that Hamas has continued its practise of commandeering building materials meant to be used to restore or rebuild destroyed dwellings and public institutions for a purpose it deems of far greater importance; the reconstruction of the destroyed tunnels. Egypt has experienced one too many attacks against its police and military in the Sinai and has responded by destroying Hamas tunnels there, as well.

And then there's the little-mentioned fact that was amply demonstrated that the United Nations body had as much as aided and abetted Hamas during the 50-day conflict between the IDF and the terrorist group when rockets and weapons were known to be stored in UN schools. And rockets fired off from areas around UN properties. Moreover UNRWA, when faced with criticism denied any involvement at any level in being of assistance to Hamas, though it was known to have handed over to Hamas weapons it had been forced by those revelations to clear out of its buildings.

The immediate result of UNRWA's admission that it had been unable to collect on the pledges by supporting nations to help rebuild Gaza, was a violent demonstration with Palestinians in the territory besieging the UN office in Gaza. As well, a senior Hamas official, Khalil al Hayya, gave warning that the delay in reconstruction funds would inspire future attacks: "Our message to a world that is afraid of terrorism and radicalism, is that preventing reconstruction, and the continued blockade of the Gaza Strip, will enable the rise of terrorists and extremists."


The Israeli Civil Administration, in its interaction on a day-to-day basis with the Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank publishes lists and photographs of foods, medicines and daily goods inclusive of construction materials which are permitted entry into the Gaza Strip. The strict maritime blockade's purpose is quite distinct: to prevent the smuggling of weapons or construction materials meant to benefit the aims of Hamas in its pursuit of destroying the State of Israel.

The Gazan protesters responding to the UN announcement that it lacked funds to enable the rebuilding of the area, burned tires at the UN Gaza headquarters, threw rocks and shouted "We are still homeless!", a tragedy that would better have been directed at their Hamas overseers who miss few opportunities to lob their version of love letters over to Israel, in hopes of scoring some dead Israelis. Hamas eventually broke up the demonstration, when the protest appeared on the cusp of storming the building.

The $5.4-billion that had been pledged at the Cairo aid conference last October has quite simply failed to materialize. It's the kind of funding that would be almost irrelevant to an oil-rich country like Saudi Arabia, in aid of fellow Sunni Arabs. But that reconstruction and the easy amendment of the deliberate harm that Hamas brought to Gaza would only serve to validate the terrorist organization's fixed idea that the entire Arab and Muslim world supports their destructive mission, at any cost to the Gaza population.

While the plight of the Palestinians is quite dreadful, held in the unrelenting grip of an Islamist terrorist group that uses them as human shields whenever the spirit moves them to drive Israel to a reaction to constant bombardment, there is also the fact that the Palestinians in both Gaza and West Bank give huge support to Hamas and its end-stage ambitions, considering them heroic whenever a blow has succeeded in taking Israeli lives.

Until such time, should it ever arrive, that Palestinians recognize that their own compliance with and support of terrorism is self-defeating, perhaps compassion is a wasted emotion.

Confirmation that Hamas has been confiscating construction materials donated by the international community came through exiled Jordanian politician Mudar Zahran: "Aid earmarked for reconstruction is turning up on the Hamas controlled black market, where it is being sold at premium prices." Financial aid funnelled through Hamas to benefit the Gaza population has been used toward weapons acquisition and military salaries, according to the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).