The British Parliament’s International Development Committee is currently conducting an inquiry into “Development Assistance and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.” This committee is investigating the effectiveness of European aid to the Palestinian population and the impact of the current war conditions on the Palestinian population.
Until a few weeks ago, the list of submissions to the committee was entirely skewed towards a pro-Palestinian view of the issues. Now several new submissions present a countervailing view. One of them, submitted about a week ago, was made by Terry Mendoza. The new website EUFunding.org has just posted a complete copy of that outstanding, highly detailed submission, which should reach an audience outside of British parliamentarians. An excerpt:
Based on a plethora of sources (both media, governmental, and non-governmental), it is becoming increasingly apparent that the Palestinian Authority has systematically been funneling money according to their own purposes and to the detriment of the their own people. It has also become clear that international aid, including European Union funds, is falling into this abyss and thus being misused as well. Even the Palestinian people have become aware of this problem and have demanded change.
Israel, responsible according to the Oslo Accords for providing specified amounts of aid to the Palestinians, has found a way to ensure that their funds are received by the intended parties. The European Union, the World Bank and other donors have still not focused on the need for this supervision. This allows funds to continue to fall into the wrong hands, ultimately to be used for the wrong reasons.
As a taxpayer, it is my right and obligation to demand that all funds be used for proper educational materials, real and improved living conditions, development of infrastructure and more.
