US, EU Stand Firm On Boycott. Except They Don’t. And Except There Is No Boycott.

By
Omri Ceren
– March 21, 2007Posted in: Europe

The AP wants you to know that the US and EU have announced that the embargo on the PA will continue:

The United States and the European Union announced Monday night that the economic embargo will continue to be imposed on the Palestinian Authority, despite the recent formation of a PA unity government.

Except they won’t:

Nevertheless, EU representatives and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice decided at the end of Monday’s meeting in Washington that the EU would continue to provide limited direct aid to Palestinians for three months.

Except that aid has actually increased since the Hamas election and indirect aid might as well be direct aid since it frees up money for Hamas weapons and propaganda.

Not that you didn’t know that. And not that they don’t know that. It’s just kind of nice to pretend otherwise – so that the proper forms will be observed, ya know?

References:
* EU, US: Embargo on PA will continue [JPost]
* Foreign Aid To Palestinians Has Increased By 10 Percent Since Hamas Election [MR]
* Why "Humanitarian Aid" is a Myth (Or: the Definition of the Word Fungible) [MR]

Previously:
* US Cuts Aid to Palestinians – But Only Kind Of
* Technical, Academic Description of EU Justifications for Palestinian Aid
* The Palestinian Deprivation Myth – Maybe If They Spent More Of Their Massive Aid Packages On Medicine and Less On Suicide Bombings…

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