Situation in Palestine

The policy of freezing aid to Palestine is having a real impact on the lives of the Palestinians in the West Bank. Civil servants and security men (the majority of whom oppose Hamas) have taken to the streets in Palestine due to non-payment of wages. The situation is exacerbated by the policies of the US and the EU who are clearly unimpressed by the democratically elected authority. Consequently, the UN has called for extra funds to be made available to the Palestinian Authority to relieve the humanitarian crisis that is developing there. Of course, it could be argued that this is all down to Hamas.

However, I think that if the western powers are trying to hurt Hamas they are going about it in the wrong way. All this is going to lead to is more resentment of the west. Stuff like this is all to easily used as anti-western propaganda. There are reports that the West Bank is like a powder keg waiting to go off. People can't afford even the most basic commodities. Maybe Hamas is to blame, but somehow I suspect the refusal to donate aid to the Palestinian Authoity is going to have severe repurcussions for the whole region. Inflaming an already hostile opinion towards the west.