Voicing support for a "Palestinian Marshall Plan," Housing and Construction Minister Natan Sharansky urged Western leaders to fund Palestinian infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip through organizations and individuals that are independent of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. Calling on donors to the PA to reroute funds away from Arafat, Sharansky said such a plan should, at the very least, include the US, Europe, Japan, Canada, and Israel, and could include the European Union's annual $300 million donation as well as $350 million withheld from the PA by Israel since the start of the intifada.
Not a bad idea. That'd keep significant portions of the aid money from sticking to the fingers of Arafat and his cronies, and other significant portions from being diverted into arms purchases. D'oh! Shoulda thought of that before! |