Arab Countries Snub Hamas...Again!

Last week, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit turned down a meeting with Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar because he was "too busy" and "could not make time" to meet his counterpart. Most journalists and political analysts considered this an excuse to avoid meeting with the al-Zahar who is a member of the controversial Hamas party.

This week, Jordan has announced that it will cancel the planned Wednesday meeting with al-Zahar after it accused Hamas of "smuggling weapons" into Jordan, hinting in a separate announcement that the weapons found were to be used to attack "vital" Jordanian targets.

This is clearly another excuse for the Jordanians to avoid a controversial meeting with members of Hamas. Both Jordan and Egypt should be ashamed of themselves, as they are rejecting meetings with members of a democratically elected party representing the Palestinian people. Had it been a meeting with a low-level Israeli politician, the red carpet would have been rolled out for them without any objection. These are the same countries that did nothing during the Intifada (2000-2003) in removing ambassadors or refusing to meet with Israeli officials.

Qatar, a country willing and able to host the Asia Games, has generously donated a whole $50 million to the Palestinian Authority. Let me repeat, FIFTY MILLION BUCKS, one Qatari prince can shake his ASS and this amount will come rolling out of his pockets. Mind you, this is the same country that is willing to plop down $600 million just for the residential project that will house the players visiting the country in December. Forget the other few $BILLION$ that will be needed to fund the rest of the games, which are the largest after the Olympics.

Besides Qatar, only Iran and Russia have offered aid assistance to the Palestinians. All of these donations however, do not cover a fraction of the monthly needs of the PA to pay government salaries and to maintain a semi-government system. The Arab League ministers tried to come to an agreement to provide $55 million to the PA on a monthly basis but that is yet to be confirmed.

Arab leaders, despite their diplomatic public statements, want Hamas to fail miserably. They want to tell their populations that dictatorship is better for them...Look what elections did for the Palestinians...You want Islamic parties? This is what Islamic parties do, they fail. Democracy doesn't work for you Arabs. You're better off with dictators like us.

And the US and EU? Well, they're basically spitting in the face of Palestinians and Arabs in general by encouraging them to pursue democracy and free elections, but withdrawing their support when those elected do not float their boat. We don't need your damn help, we don't need to keep begging for your money, and we don't want to be blackmailed just because you offer us some leftovers after you give the billions to Israel. We want you to leave us the hell alone and let us find a democracy that fits OUR needs and OUR traditions and OUR people's interests.

In the end, it is the mothers of Palestinian prisoners, the families of those brutally killed by Israel, and the rest of the Palestinian population imprisoned and starved that will suffer from these "snubs" and "diplomatic gestures."

Shame, shame, shame!!!

[technorati tags: Middle East, failures, Palestine, Qatar, Hamas, human rights, US, democracy]