The Israel and Palestine conflict has become the new line in the sand on where Americans stand. If one were to go to most Evangelical communities, especially online, most of them support Israel. As a matter of fact, Psalm 122:6 in the Holy Bible calls for Christ followers to pray for the peace for the land given to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. On the other hand, we reported numerous demonstrations in which support for Palestine and the Hamas were conducted here on American soil. This includes the large rally in Chicago as well as yesterday’s (August 2, 2014) pro-Palestine rally in Washington D.C led by the ANSWER Coalition .
Now there are reports coming in showing which side of the line President Barack Obama and the government in general are on, and it reported to be on the side of the Hamas by funding them $400 million in American taxpayer dollars.
According to the initial article by the Wall Street Journal , the American taxpayer may soon become an indirect party to the enterprise of supporting the terrorist group known as the Hamas. For those who know their political history, this shouldn’t be possible because back in 1997, the U.S. law forbids taxpayer support of any group heavily influenced by Hamas. It was also at that time the State Department recognized Hamas as a Foreign Terrorist Organization too. In that case, how is it Americans are funding the Hamas with their tax dollars? Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, shines some light on his televised remarks earlier this week:
“Today, we declare the end of the split and regaining the unity of the homeland.”
The split Abbas was talking about was between his Fatah faction and the Hamas. That’s right, the Palestinian Authority is uniting with the Hamas. Take into account, once again, that we don’t support “foreign terrorist organizations”. However, the U.S. does support the Palestinian Authority, in the tune of $400 million per year. Think about that! $400 million of collective tax dollars that you, your family, your co-workers, and your friends might be going to the Hamas!
Conservative Tribune followed up on the initial article in which they report that President Barack Obama has refused to cut off funding to the Palestinians, because Hamas has installed into its government supporters from Gaza who – though agreed-upon by the terrorist organization – have “no obvious link” to it. In short, Obama still funds Palestine because even though they are merged with the Hamas, they have no direct link to each other’s activities.
The article also states that Barack Obama has no intention of recognizing the Palestinian Authority as a terrorist-supporting organization because it would be in violation against the statute passed back in 1997. Now the only obstacle in the way of this becoming a reality is Congress. They are the only ones who can block funding for the Palestinians until the country proves capable of governing themselves as something other than a terrorist enterprise.
What are your opinions on this situation in which the Palestine Authority and Hamas are uniting? Is it truly a progressive step forward for the peace of the Palestinian people or is it something else entirely? Let us know in the comments below.
[Image via Bing]