As news just comes that Canada will boycott the new Palestinian Authority and not provide it with the aid it previously did [see the report here]- because the Government is Hamas-led - on it's first day in office the Authority is facing a crippling financial crisis reports Aljazeera here.
The US is reviewing its position although its diplomats have already been instructed to have no contact with the Authority.
How this will all play out remains to be seen but a number of issues immediately come to mind. First, was the Authority not democratically elected? No one has suggested otherwise. Second, are there not double-standards at play here? Western Governments don't usually boycott Governments whose policies they don't like or they otherwise don't agree with. Thirdly, how on earth is any peace-process ever going to get underway with an Authority the principal players won't talk to? Fourthly, won't the Palestinians be driven into the arms of countries like Iran? - that State presently "on the nose". And finally, with the Palestinians confronted with economic hardship won't they resort to more suicide bombings and the like?
The US is reviewing its position although its diplomats have already been instructed to have no contact with the Authority.
How this will all play out remains to be seen but a number of issues immediately come to mind. First, was the Authority not democratically elected? No one has suggested otherwise. Second, are there not double-standards at play here? Western Governments don't usually boycott Governments whose policies they don't like or they otherwise don't agree with. Thirdly, how on earth is any peace-process ever going to get underway with an Authority the principal players won't talk to? Fourthly, won't the Palestinians be driven into the arms of countries like Iran? - that State presently "on the nose". And finally, with the Palestinians confronted with economic hardship won't they resort to more suicide bombings and the like?
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