You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Middle East
Brit minister blames Israel for Palestinian poverty
2002-02-07
  • The response by Israel to the Palestinian intifada has caused an "enormous drop" in incomes and living standards in the occupied territories, says Britain's Minister for the Middle East Ben Bradshaw. "Levels of poverty have increased considerably from 21 per cent at the start of the intifada to at least 35 per cent. This means that about 1 million people exist on less than $2 per day," Bradshaw said in response to a written question in parliament. He laid most of the blame for the declining economic situation of the Palestinians on Israel's policy of "closure" saying that unemployment was very high and many people are "just getting by thanks to savings and humanitarian aid."
    That makes sense. Not a lot of sense, but some, I guess. If they Palestinians can't be blamed under any circumstances for fouling their own nest, then it has to be someone else's fault. This is that magickal area of the world where cause (random exploding snuffies) and effect (no one's going to hire you because you might explode without warning, and if they do, no one else is gonna let you in their vicinity) don't apply.
    Perry at the Libertarian Samizdatelstvo brings up the (self-imposed) poverty of the Palestinians as a good reason for Jordan not to want to reabsorb the West Bank. It's not so much the fact that the Palestinian GDP per capita is less than half that of the Jordanians, but that the reason it's so low is that the area is packed solid with wild-eyed exploding loons.
    Posted by Fred 2/8/2002 12:05:12 AM
    • Posted by:Fred Pruitt

    00:00