By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:Months ago donors gathered in Egypt and pledged $5.4 billion to help rebuild Gaza. The pledges far exceeded the expectations. That was not surprising.
And since then, almost no one has paid their pledges and those that did come in were for only a fraction of the promise. Once again, as I always say, this is not a surprise.
Thus far of the $5.4 billion only $100 million has been paid and that was by the United States and the European Union. That comes to about 2% of the pledges. And those were monies already in the pipeline.
Qatar promised $1 billion, the Saudis $500 million.
Now, we also know that the supplies that have been delivered to Gaza are either in storage waiting for proper supervision or they have been stolen and Hamas is using them to rebuild tunnels and create new ones.
Of the pledges, 50% was to go to rebuilding and the other 50% was to go to bolster the Palestinian economy.
Recent history of donor conferences and pledges has taught us that the only group that actually fulfills pledges and pays on time is the United States. And that is the only reason that the United States still has influence in the region.
The Palestinians cannot run to the highest bidder because the bidder may not pay, may not pay on time or may not pay the pledged amount.
Welcome to the Middle East.
Micah@MicahHalpern.com
Read my latest book THUGS. It's easy. Just click. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com
No comments:
Post a Comment