Apparently the $410 billion bump that Bush is giving Abbas isn't enough to buy all those helicopter busting APCs that the PA needs to... er... shoot down Hamas helicopters? Well fuck:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's government will ask donors in Paris this month to provide $5.5 billion in aid to strengthen the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority, Palestinian officials said on Sunday... Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad will ask donors at the Paris conference, scheduled for December 17, to provide $5.5 billion in aid over three years. The request is based on an economic plan for 2007 to 2010, a senior Palestinian official told Reuters. The conference is the first forum for international donor states to make pledges to the Palestinian Authority since 1996, officials said.

Because when we think "perfect time to pour money into the PA", obviously the answer that springs immediately to mind is right now. It looks like they're going to get most of it, too.

Sure that sucks if you don't like it when security forces riddled with Al Qaeda defectors and open terrorists get billions of dollars for weapons and training. But look on the bright side: this presents a valuable new wrinkle for peace process-related gambling. Anyone can put down an over/under on how long Abbas has before he gets rolled by Hamas. For true Mideast news junkies, maybe the bet should be how much aid gets to the PA before Hamas rolls them and the West has to go through the motions of reimposing sanctions. Or better yet: how much money Fatah police officers will be able to use to murder Israelis before Hamas grabs it and uses it to murder Israelis.

References:
* US Unveils $410 Million's Worth Of Assistance That Will Shortly Be Seized By Hamas [MR]
* Palestinians To Get 25 Cutting Edge, Helicopter-Busting APCs [MR]
* Palestinian Authority to ask for $5.5b in aid at Paris donors conference [Ha'aretz]
* Pro-Abbas Forces Unable To Stop Anti-Abbas Riots That Kill 1, Injure More Than 60 [MR]
* U.S. takes back UN draft due to Israel's objections [Ha'aretz]
* Dozens Of Fatah Police Officers Defect To AQ (Plus: Israeli "Goodwill Gesture" - 300 Palestinian Policemen To Deploy Around Nablus) [MR]
* PA Police Officers Rolling In Millions Of New US Aid, Murdering Israeli Civilians [MR]
* Hamas Has 200 Tons Of Explosives That The US Gave To Fatah (Plus: Egypt Says It's Israel's Fault) [MR]
* Bush Launches Final Status Talks: "I Don't Think It's A Risk To Try" (Plus: Anti-Abbas Riots Spread Through West Bank) [Video] [MR]

Previously:
* State Department Deliberately Circumvents Anti-Terrorism Laws, Funds Hamas
* Palestinians Prepare For Peace Summit By Shooting Israeli Civilian In West Bank (Plus: Two Dozen Rockets And Mortars Hit Israel Monday)
* Palestinians Prepare For Peace Conference With Ten Terrorist Plots