The world community was right to condemn the senseless act of a suicide bomber that resulted in the death of nine Israelis. Killing of innocent civilians is morally repugnant. The Hamas leadership displayed appalling insensitivity by condoning the killings. But withholding funds and aid from the suffering Palestinians is inexcusable. Last week Oxfam International warned that the humanitarian crisis in the West Bank and Gaza will only worsen in response to international aid cuts. Oxfam is providing the only source of clean water to about 140,000 Palestinians families in the Occupied Territories, 60% of them live on about $2 a day.
It is irresponsible and excessively cruel of the international community to punish three-and-a-half million people for the political decisions of its leaders. Israel is obligated by international law to provide money that was rightly due to the Palestinians. The taxes from Palestinian workers, according to the agreements, must be transferred to the Palestinian Authority. It is unconscionable that Israel has illegally deducted large portions of these funds. This illegal withholding has been continuing for 39 years. This blatant theft of funds has been ignored by the international community.
Fortunately, the undue influence of the Israeli lobby, which attempts to blunt any criticism of Israeli, has been largely exposed by Stephen Walt of Harvard and John J. Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago, in their recent essay. I urge concerned citizens to write to their representatives and demand a restoration of aid and support to the Palestinians.
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