Stop funding terror with our tax dollars!
Since the beginning of 2007, hundreds of thousands of dollars in U.S. foreign aid have flooded into Palestinian-occupied areas of Israel. Earmarked for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah organization, much of it has taken the form of weapons and ammunition.
As an intransigent President Bush continues to support Fatah against rival terror gang Hamas, Americans need to realize Fatah's true nature and how it is putting our hard-earned tax money to use. We also need to contact our legislators in both parties about this abuse of our national generosity. This can be done quickly and easily by visiting www.congress.org, or by clicking on "Contact Government Officials" in the gray "WND Resources" box in the left column of this page.
Our lawmakers, who are truly busy people, may not be as aware as we think about Fatah and the PA, and they may actually appreciate the following information being brought to their attention.
1. Palestinian Arabs are the most radical Muslims in the world.
According to a recent Pew survey conducted among Muslims in 47 countries, three-quarters of Palestinians support the use of suicide bombing against Israeli Jews while fewer than 10 percent oppose it. Sixty percent state they see Iran as a "model for the Palestinian Authority to follow."
2. Fatah is as much a terror organization as Hamas.
Fatah's military wing, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, was added to the United States government's list of foreign terrorist organizations in 2002 and remains there today. Fatah was the main supporter in the Arab world of the Khomeini revolution in Iran, and it was instrumental in the creation of both Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah. It is nobody's "partner for peace."
3. Fatah kills more Israelis than Hamas does.
Through Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Fatah has been responsible for every suicide bombing attack in Israel in the past three years. It has been responsible for a third of the rockets fired on Israel. All Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade leaders are also members of Fatah.
4. Fatah has killed Americans and plans to kill more.
Since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, Palestinian terror groups including Fatah have murdered 53 Americans and injured 83. "We call upon all mujahedeen in Palestine and around the world to start hitting Americans without mercy," reads a plainly worded statement issued by Fatah in November 2006.
5. The size of Fatah's forces is illegal.
Mahmoud Abbas's presidential security force, which benefits from our funding, has been inflated to over 40,000 members, more than twice the number allowed by the Oslo Accords.
6. Fatah doesn't know what it has done with the money we've already given it.
Salam Fayyad, prime minister of the emergency Palestinian government and a former World Bank official, has told the London Telegraph: "PA spending is out of control, salaries are being paid to workers who never turn up, and nobody can track where the money is going." Fayyad has warned foreign donors that he has no idea where much of their money has been spent. "There is now no way to confirm whether aid is going to its stated purpose," he said.
7. Fatah weapons end up in Hamas hands.
Western aid items appropriated by Hamas when it took Gaza from Fatah this summer include:
- Dozens of mounted machine guns
- Approximately 7,400 American M-16 assault rifles
- About 800,000 rounds of bullets
- 18 armored personnel carriers
- Seven armored military jeeps
- Tens of armored civilian cars, including pickup trucks and magnums
- Eight massive trucks equipped with water cannons, and
- 14 military-sized bulldozers.
Additionally, terrorists who defect from the losing side (Fatah) to the winning side (Hamas), a common occurrence in the PA, take their personal weapons with them when they go.
8. Fatah is Islamic fundamentalist, not secular as it claims.
Fatah websites frequently use Muslim religious phrases and tenets, for example, on the "holy duty" to "liberate" Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa mosque, and the religious terminology of "jihad."
9. Fatah will use any weapons it acquires against its Israeli neighbors, not against other Palestinians.
In January when the United States gave Fatah 7,000 assault rifles and more than 1 million rounds of ammunition, Abu Yousuf of Abbas' Force 17 security forces stated that the bulk of those American arms would be used to "hit the Zionists," as he claimed previous shipments had. In a speech that same month, Abbas said: "We should put our internal fighting aside and raise our rifles only against the Israeli occupation." The PA charter itself calls for the destruction of the nation of Israel and the taking of its land.
10. Fatah kills women – and forces them to kill.
In addition to turning a blind eye to so-called "honor killings," Fatah terrorists routinely seduce or rape young women and then threaten to tell – which would bring about the women's deaths by "honor killing" – unless the victims agree to become "martyrs."
11. Fatah kills children – and teaches them to kill.
In addition to using babies as unwitting suicide bombers, the PA teaches hatred and murder in kindergarten, a heart-wrenching reality it doesn't even attempt to conceal. One of the more comprehensive sites on this subject, with video and a special section on Palestinian school textbook propaganda, is that of Palestinian Media Watch.
12. Fatah is corrupt, financially as well as morally.
Fatah official Mahmoud Dahlan and his top aide were recently caught skimming $52 million out of the Western foreign aid pot, and the money turned up subsequently in their personal finances. But even these are rank amateurs compared to Yasser Arafat, who pocketed billions in foreign donations intended for his people.
13. Fatah represents almost no one.
Despite losing the January 2007 election to Hamas by a 2-to-1 ratio, Fatah continues to receive a staggering amount of aid, mostly from the U.S. and Europe: an estimated $697 million just since its defeat six months ago.
14. We need the money ourselves.
And the trend continues, unabated and unexplained to the American public. Last week, the United States delivered more weaponry to Fatah, this time 3,000 assault rifles, 1 million rounds of ammunition, and a truckload of bulletproof vests, with a promise of more aid to follow.
Why?
Are Fatah and its debauched value system something the world really ought to preserve? Couldn't these massive amounts of our money be better spent securing our borders, deporting illegals and ensuring that our passenger planes are once again safe to fly on, all of which we have been told we "can't afford" to do?
If our legislators won't apply the brakes to the president's runaway train for any other reason, here are two more facts that just might get their attention:
15. We're tired of having such poor representation in Washington, and
16. Next year is an election year.
As an intransigent President Bush continues to support Fatah against rival terror gang Hamas, Americans need to realize Fatah's true nature and how it is putting our hard-earned tax money to use. We also need to contact our legislators in both parties about this abuse of our national generosity. This can be done quickly and easily by visiting www.congress.org, or by clicking on "Contact Government Officials" in the gray "WND Resources" box in the left column of this page.
Our lawmakers, who are truly busy people, may not be as aware as we think about Fatah and the PA, and they may actually appreciate the following information being brought to their attention.
1. Palestinian Arabs are the most radical Muslims in the world.
According to a recent Pew survey conducted among Muslims in 47 countries, three-quarters of Palestinians support the use of suicide bombing against Israeli Jews while fewer than 10 percent oppose it. Sixty percent state they see Iran as a "model for the Palestinian Authority to follow."
2. Fatah is as much a terror organization as Hamas.
Fatah's military wing, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, was added to the United States government's list of foreign terrorist organizations in 2002 and remains there today. Fatah was the main supporter in the Arab world of the Khomeini revolution in Iran, and it was instrumental in the creation of both Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah. It is nobody's "partner for peace."
3. Fatah kills more Israelis than Hamas does.
Through Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Fatah has been responsible for every suicide bombing attack in Israel in the past three years. It has been responsible for a third of the rockets fired on Israel. All Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade leaders are also members of Fatah.
4. Fatah has killed Americans and plans to kill more.
Since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, Palestinian terror groups including Fatah have murdered 53 Americans and injured 83. "We call upon all mujahedeen in Palestine and around the world to start hitting Americans without mercy," reads a plainly worded statement issued by Fatah in November 2006.
5. The size of Fatah's forces is illegal.
Mahmoud Abbas's presidential security force, which benefits from our funding, has been inflated to over 40,000 members, more than twice the number allowed by the Oslo Accords.
6. Fatah doesn't know what it has done with the money we've already given it.
Salam Fayyad, prime minister of the emergency Palestinian government and a former World Bank official, has told the London Telegraph: "PA spending is out of control, salaries are being paid to workers who never turn up, and nobody can track where the money is going." Fayyad has warned foreign donors that he has no idea where much of their money has been spent. "There is now no way to confirm whether aid is going to its stated purpose," he said.
7. Fatah weapons end up in Hamas hands.
Western aid items appropriated by Hamas when it took Gaza from Fatah this summer include:
- Dozens of mounted machine guns
- Approximately 7,400 American M-16 assault rifles
- About 800,000 rounds of bullets
- 18 armored personnel carriers
- Seven armored military jeeps
- Tens of armored civilian cars, including pickup trucks and magnums
- Eight massive trucks equipped with water cannons, and
- 14 military-sized bulldozers.
Additionally, terrorists who defect from the losing side (Fatah) to the winning side (Hamas), a common occurrence in the PA, take their personal weapons with them when they go.
8. Fatah is Islamic fundamentalist, not secular as it claims.
Fatah websites frequently use Muslim religious phrases and tenets, for example, on the "holy duty" to "liberate" Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa mosque, and the religious terminology of "jihad."
9. Fatah will use any weapons it acquires against its Israeli neighbors, not against other Palestinians.
In January when the United States gave Fatah 7,000 assault rifles and more than 1 million rounds of ammunition, Abu Yousuf of Abbas' Force 17 security forces stated that the bulk of those American arms would be used to "hit the Zionists," as he claimed previous shipments had. In a speech that same month, Abbas said: "We should put our internal fighting aside and raise our rifles only against the Israeli occupation." The PA charter itself calls for the destruction of the nation of Israel and the taking of its land.
10. Fatah kills women – and forces them to kill.
In addition to turning a blind eye to so-called "honor killings," Fatah terrorists routinely seduce or rape young women and then threaten to tell – which would bring about the women's deaths by "honor killing" – unless the victims agree to become "martyrs."
11. Fatah kills children – and teaches them to kill.
In addition to using babies as unwitting suicide bombers, the PA teaches hatred and murder in kindergarten, a heart-wrenching reality it doesn't even attempt to conceal. One of the more comprehensive sites on this subject, with video and a special section on Palestinian school textbook propaganda, is that of Palestinian Media Watch.
12. Fatah is corrupt, financially as well as morally.
Fatah official Mahmoud Dahlan and his top aide were recently caught skimming $52 million out of the Western foreign aid pot, and the money turned up subsequently in their personal finances. But even these are rank amateurs compared to Yasser Arafat, who pocketed billions in foreign donations intended for his people.
13. Fatah represents almost no one.
Despite losing the January 2007 election to Hamas by a 2-to-1 ratio, Fatah continues to receive a staggering amount of aid, mostly from the U.S. and Europe: an estimated $697 million just since its defeat six months ago.
14. We need the money ourselves.
And the trend continues, unabated and unexplained to the American public. Last week, the United States delivered more weaponry to Fatah, this time 3,000 assault rifles, 1 million rounds of ammunition, and a truckload of bulletproof vests, with a promise of more aid to follow.
Why?
Are Fatah and its debauched value system something the world really ought to preserve? Couldn't these massive amounts of our money be better spent securing our borders, deporting illegals and ensuring that our passenger planes are once again safe to fly on, all of which we have been told we "can't afford" to do?
If our legislators won't apply the brakes to the president's runaway train for any other reason, here are two more facts that just might get their attention:
15. We're tired of having such poor representation in Washington, and
16. Next year is an election year.