Hamas officials have managed to smuggle more than $66 million in cash through the Rafah border crossing in the past eight months, a member of the Hamas-led government revealed Wednesday.Meanwhile, sources close to the Hamas-led government claimed that Hamas representatives recently held talks with officials from the US Democratic Party at a secret location.
If true these Democrats need to be identified and horse-whipped -- they're negotiating with people our government has proclaimed to be terrorists.
The sources told the Bethlehem-based Maan News Agency that Hamas representatives have also been holding secret talks with European government officials, including Britain and France.
That's no surprise; the French in particular want to open the money spigots.
Palestinian Authority Planning Minister Samir Abu Aisheh of Hamas said the cash that was brought by Hamas officials was handed over to the PA Finance Ministry. He also revealed that the Hamas-led government has managed to pay 69% of the salaries to the PA's 160,000 civil servants during the same period.
Preventing the riots that otherwise should have occurred.
Altogether, the Palestinians have received $318 million in international aid since Hamas took over despite international sanctions imposed on the Palestinians, the minister said, noting that most of the money was channeled through the office of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
Into the left pocket instead of the right pocket. All got spent in the end.
This is the first time that a senior Hamas official reveals the total sum of money that has been smuggled into the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing. Several Hamas ministers, legislators and officials have managed to smuggle suitcases full of millions of dollars through the border crossing.
At the border crossing manned by Y'urp-peon 'monitors'. Who obviously are enjoying long lunches and brief tours on duty.
The most recent case occurred last week, when PA Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar returned from a 14-day Arab and Islamic tour carrying $20 million in cash. A week earlier, two Hamas legislators arrived at the Rafah border crossing each carrying $2 million in cash.
They managed, somehow, someway, not to get 'caught' with the cash. They must be really good smugglers.
The report about contacts between Hamas and American and European officials comes in the wake of the breakdown of negotiations between Hamas and Abbas's Fatah party over the formation of a Palestinian unity government.
According to the report, Hamas has succeeded in convincing European officials to accept the Islamist movement's plan for a long-term hudna
Since Y'urp-peons don't know history and have chosen not to investigate further the meaning of a hudna.
The report quoted sources close to Hamas as saying that the Europeans have bought the idea of solving the Israeli-Arab conflict on the basis of a hudna rather than the principle of land for peace.
Since it's more convenient for them.
The sources claimed that many European governments have shown interest in "flexible" statements by some Hamas leaders lately, including remarks by Syria-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal to the effect that his movement was prepared to offer Israel a hudna in return for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the entire West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.
And should the Israelis say 'no' (not a given with Olmert), the Euros would then proceed to sanction the Israelis and give Hamas whatever it wants.