Demands that aid to Palestinians be cut following Hamas's victory expose Washington's calls for democracy as a sham, writes Emad Mekay The US, self-styled promoter of democracy in the Middle East, is threatening to punish the Palestinian people for exercising their democratic rights. The United States is spearheading pressure on international donors alarmed by the win of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas in the Palestinian parliamentary elections to cut off aid. Washington, in effect, is threatening to bankrupt the future Hamas-led Palestinian Authority (PA). Some analysts think Hamas can survive the new onslaught though US threats, if fulfilled, will drain the aid money that has sustained the Palestinians for the past few years. The World Bank estimates that foreign donors gave the PA $1.1 billion in 2005, about half the PA's budget. Washington says it contributed $400 million in direct aid, and several million more through UN charities, to the PA last year. The majority of US funding, however, goes not to the PA directly but is filtered through US and local non-governmental organisations and contractors. It is used for capacity building, to promote democratic reform and economic liberalisation, to empower women and finance higher education. International financial institutions, like the World Bank, report that even with foreign aid nearly one-half of all Palestinians live below the poverty line and as many as 600,000 people are unable to meet their basic needs in food, clothing and shelter. Such facts could not matter less in the US, which was so visibly "shocked" and "awed" by the Hamas win that some officials argue that Washington's only possible response should be to sever all aid. Washington argues that it does not see how it can help fund an organisation that has not renounced armed struggle against Israel, its main ally in the Middle East. Hamas says it will continue to fight Israel as long as it occupies Arab land, an issue that gets scant attention here. The loudest sabre-rattling came from the corridors of Congress, where Israel lobbyists are most active. Senator John Thune introduced a non-binding resolution calling for an end to US assistance to the PA if the ruling majority party within the Palestinian Legislative Council insists on the right to take up arms as a means to liberate Palestinian land. "It would be wrong for a single American tax dollar to go to the Palestinian Authority while a majority party within their parliament calls for the destruction of Israel," said Thune. "Israel is one of America's closest allies and peace in the Middle East is one of our top priorities." Senator Lindsey Graham, a hawkish Republican, called for US assistance to the Palestinians to be reconsidered. "The election results amount to a de-facto declaration of war by the Palestinian people against the state of Israel," he said. "It's imperative our nation redouble its commitment to the state of Israel and cautiously evaluate any future assistance to a Palestinian regime governed by terrorists." Israel itself, which provides funds to the PA through VAT, social security payments, customs duties and tax transfers, says it may also turn off the money. The European Union is also examining its options. The Hamas win complicated the situation for all parties that some observers believe the EU, Israel and the US may be bluffing. After all, their aid is not without conditions. The Bush administration cut ties with the PA under Yasser Arafat early in its first term but had to rebuild them to win back lost leverage with the PA. The Europeans, without their aid money, would have little if any role in the strategically important region. Aid has continued to be one of the main channels of influence on pro-Western Palestinian officials from the nationalist Fatah faction, widely considered to be corrupt and ineffective. "I cannot imagine the US will not find some way to offer some assistance just because it allows them leverage to shape the negotiations to some degree," said Edward Sayre, assistant professor of economics at Agnes Scott College and an expert on Palestinian economy. "And more so the Europeans, who would be even less willing to totally cut off aid." Hamas's transparency in administrative and financial matters may help it survive a threatened economic boycott. Good governance is, after all, an attractive trait for foreign investors and donors. Sayre argues the main threat to an economic recovery under Hamas would come from Israel sealing off Palestinian areas and preventing the movement of goods and workers. If Hamas can avoid that it may pull off an economic success. "If the EU and US do cut aid there will be a negative effect. If Israel doesn't want to deal with them at all in terms of borders and movement of goods, the economy will stagnate," said Sayre. "But as long as they are able to get some funding from the US and the EU and are able to negotiate to some degree with the Israelis and open up these borders then I think [recovery] is possible." Some independent groups in the US have argued against cutting aid on humanitarian grounds, denouncing US moves as a plan to collectively punish the Palestinians for their political choices. The Council for National Interest, a Washington-based group, issued a statement on Monday saying that ending aid would derail the humanitarian programme run by USAID. "These humanitarian programmes are important to the social and economic well-being of Palestinians in the occupied territories whose ability to earn a livelihood is drastically curtailed by the human rights violations Israel commits through its US- backed military occupation of these areas," said the statement. "Cutting off this humanitarian aid would punish people for exercising their right to vote." US-Arab groups have also opposed US moves, arguing that Hamas will not benefit from US assistance. "The notion that this money goes to the Palestinian Authority (PA), and will therefore benefit Hamas, is wrong. Funds go to US and Palestinian private contractors and civil society institutions," said James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute. "Suspending aid would damage Palestinian society and cause the US to become even more isolated from Palestinian moderates. Biting off our noses to spite our faces is not a smart approach."
