"The Palestinians as a people of beggars”

Abdel-Beri Atwan, editor-in-chief of Al Quds Al Arabi, a Palestinian-owned, independent pan-Arab newspaper, wrote on March 3 that: “The news regarding the financial crisis that the Palestinian authority is going through, have overridden other developments in the Arab occupied territory, namely the continuous assassination of the leaders of the military wings in the Resistance Movement, the latest of which was martyr Abu Al Walid Al Dahdouh, one of the most prominent leaders of the Islamic Jihad. The number one concern of the Palestinians is now whether they will get their salaries on time or not. “The Palestinian people that have always been a symbol of struggle, dignity and pride, have now become a begging, lazy and dependent people, that live on the crumbs of Western and Arab aid thanks to the Oslo accords…. Maintaining the corrupt authority and its continuity has taken priority over the Palestinian doctrines and releasing the frozen money of the authority by the Hebrew state has become more important than the liberation of Palestine and its violated territory. “Not too long ago, money was collected from the Arab states to finance the Palestinian struggle, support the families of the martyrs and rebuild the houses that the Israeli bulldozers had demolished over the heads of their inhabitants. Now the money is collected as charity to support the Palestinian people and provide them with the bare essentials at the beginning of each month. The Palestinian people have become a people of beggars, whose leaders beseech crumbs from Europe and America, as though they were victims of an earthquake or a dry spell, just like their fellows in Ethiopia and Somalia. “No one wants to speak the truth and I am enraged by the shameful reality of this honorable and beloved people that has, and still is, offering many martyrs and that was disgraced by its authority and the disastrous decisions of his leaders. The Palestinian officials shouldn’t have roamed the Arab capitals of the world begging and pleading for charity. They should’ve turned down these donations and demanded Europe and America to put an end to the occupation and to remove that suffocating embargo that is killing the Palestinian economy. “The starvation of Palestinians is a strong card not a weak card, because if these Palestinian tigers starve, they will direct their anger towards their jailers in Tel Aviv and Washington, and their starvation will echo in destruction in many European capitals, just like what happened in the seventies. That is why they want to train them to be lazy and dependent on the crumbs of aids, so that they forget their cause. “We want the people in power to tell their Washington friends, to use their authority and put an end to the Israeli blackmail, conducted through the freezing of the transfer of the Palestinian tax revenues that amount to $5 million monthly. This is Palestinian money, and using it for blackmail against the authority and the Hamas movement is insulting, unacceptable and should not continue in any way. “The problem of the Palestinian people is in their weak leadership that has settled for the role of the beggar that goes around knocking on doors, complaining and weeping, asking for charity and pity and reminding of Allah’s reward and repayment [the concept of God rewarding all those who do good deeds during their life]. What is unfortunate, is that the Palestinian authority is begging for the money of Arab countries and that of donating countries to finance the Israeli occupation of their territories. “What is also unfortunate, is that most of this money goes to the Israeli treasury and revives the Israeli economy, because those who have signed the Oslo accord and its protocols, have linked the Palestinian economy to its Israeli counterpart, and have turned it into a vermiform appendix that is glued to the Israeli economy’s large intestine. This is the first time in history that a people, that is under occupation, had to beg for financial aid from the outside, to relieve the occupying state from its commitments towards it, ones that are clearly stated in the fourth Geneva accord regarding the occupied territories.“The Hebrew state is responsible for providing security, services, jobs, education and healthcare to the people in the occupied territory, but the Oslo accords have relieved it from all these burdens, without ending the occupation and its oppressive practices. For many decades, the Palestinian people have lived under occupation, and has declared an Intifada that lasted for years, and even in those times, it enjoyed much better living conditions than it does now, under the forthcoming authority. “The Palestinian people never begged for a penny from Europe and America, and even considered that money as dishonorable and their pride would not allow them to accept it, because what would be required of them in return would be to give up their doctrines and their legitimate national rights. The Palestinian authority and its knights have corrupted the people and have linked their livelihood to American and European aid…. “The Palestinians must remove that begging mark of disgrace that the authority has imposed upon them, and regain their pure and honorable image, as a people that is struggling and fighting to restore its rights and liberate its territory… Those who are begging in the name of the Palestinian people, are not achieving anything by coming back with a few crumbs in their begging platter. Those are the people that have led the Palestinians into this deplorable state. “It is time for a new Intifada of dignity that will reshape the Palestinian work frame, bring it back to its principles of fighting the occupation and refusing all forms of Israeli, American and European blackmail. The primary target of this Intifada should be this corrupt authority and all of its symbols, policies and laws, as well as the begging culture that it has added to the Palestinian people’s dictionary.” - Al Quds Al Arabi, United Kingdom