The EU agreed Monday to send $143 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority before a government led by Hamas takes power, a move aimed at preventing a financial collapse that international envoy James Wolfensohn earlier warned could be just two weeks away.
The EU aid package consists of:
• $48 million to pay for the PA's energy and other essential utility bills. These bills will be paid by the EU directly to the utilities, based on invoices validated by an international audit firm.
• $76 million for health and education projects to be paid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provides education (if you can call propaganda saturation an education), health care, social services and emergency aid for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
• $21 million for salaries of PA workers. This money will come from $83 million the EU paid into a World Bank trust fund in 2005, only half of which was spent as the PA missed key good governance goals last year.
In Tuesday's press briefing at the State Department, deputy spokesman Adam Ereli flabbergasted reporters when he said that the aid package was "good" and "welcomed".
MR. ERELI: This is good.
Q -- this is good?
MR. ERELI: This is a welcome -- this is a welcomed step.
The move is a convoluted attempt to bolster the weak Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a misguided effort to increase the chances that a future government led by Hamas will pursue peace with Israel.
There was, however, one very astute reporter in the State Department briefing today, who asked the $143 million question: How do you get the $143 million spent so that there isn't anything left in the till when Hamas moves in?
MR. ERELI: Well, I think there's -- based -- I can't speak to the modalities of the --
Q (Off mike) -- end up in Hamas's hands?
MR. ERELI: Yeah, I can't speak to the modalities of the disbursement of the 143 million (dollars).
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