Quelle surprise indeed! Nothing to do either with the squandering of billions of foreign aid etc. See article below:

" What Did the Palestinians Do with Their "Marshall Plan"?

Ben-Dror Yamini Maariv-Hebrew, 5 Jan 06

[Provided by Daily Alert - January 8, 2007 - Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs]

The Palestinians have bought themselves a place of honor on the list of unfortunates in the world. A well-oiled public relations campaign has turned them into a nation of victims. Misery pays. One of the countries hated by the Palestinians the most, the United States, has since 1993 helped them more than any other nation in the world, according to World Bank figures.

From 1994 to 2004, the U.S. provided the Palestinians with $1.3 billion, the EU $1.1 billion, and Japan $530 million. In addition to direct aid, the U.S. is also the largest contributor to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

In 1992, the Palestinian per capita GDP was $2,683 per person. If there had not been terror, the Palestinian economy could have grown during the 1990s into one of the leaders in the Middle East. The money was used for three major purposes: perpetuation of the refugees as victims, purchase of weapons and explosives, and corruption. Opportunities to achieve independence and prosperity were rejected for the ultimate goal: the removal of Israel from the map.

In relation to their numbers, the Palestinians have received more aid than provided by the Marshall Plan after World War II. Since the Oslo agreements, the Palestinians in the territories have received $5.5 billion, or $1,300 per person. By comparison, in the Marshall plan, each European enjoyed only $273 (in today's numbers). Above all, the guilt lies with those who gave these huge sums without having the Palestinians undergo a period of recovery from their futile dreams of the destruction of Israel. The result is, primarily, the continued destruction of Palestinian society."

Abbas and Olmert may be "weak men". But doesn't Jeremy Bowen himself bear, marked on his face, poorly disguised by a fading mustache, the certain signs of moral weakness? That is the impression he leaves on me.

"What is new in the last year, and will be one of the big stories in the coming twelve months, is the way that Palestinian society, which used to draw strength from resistance to the occupation, is now fragmenting.

The reason is the death of hope, caused by a cocktail of Israel's military activities, land expropriation and settlement building – and the financial sanctions imposed on the Hamas led government which are destroying Palestinian institutions that were anyway flawed and fragile."

Bowen bemoans the fact that Palestinians no longer "draw strength" from murdering Jewish civilians.

In a recent interview with the Jerusalem Post, Melanie Phillips suggests that many young British Jews are looking for an out. Reading Bowen's epistle can anyone wonder why?

Remaining silent during the Holocaust, cheering on the murder of Jews in Israel, the BBC has quite the track record.

"Nothing to do either with the squandering of billions of foreign aid etc"

Israel withdraws completely (more or less) from Gaza and instead of taking advantage of that (aid from governments and private sources was ready to pour in) the Palestinians elected to office a government which has dedicated itself to destroying Israel. Towards that end they have smuggled weapons into Gaza and fired hundreds of rockets at Israel from there.

Of course that cuts no ice with men like Bowen who complains about the financial sanctions the world has imposed on Hamas. Had he complained about sanctions the world decided to impose on Germany in 1938, his total contempt for Jewish life couldn't be more blatant.

Ugh, disgusting is the first word that comes to mind. As Stephen says, if this is what passes for top-level analysis, then I dread to think what the kaffiyeh-wearing drones are up to.

"It's a false objective to be objective" -- Jeremy Bowen

From a recent (11 December, 2006) article in the Independent:

'For the BBC's Middle East Editor, steering a neutral path can sometimes seems impossible. Jeremy Bowen tells Ian Burrell how he deals with the challenge of 'objectivity' "

"Not only must he demystify the Middle East, but he must do so in language that does not, through an inappropriate phrase or image, inflame suspicions that the BBC is biased. Bowen, who is a contributor to the BBC's new College of Journalism, is honest enough to say that objectivity is beyond him. "We all come from somewhere; we all have a prism through which we see the world; we all have an education, and views and experiences. It's a false objective to be objective.'

"Some regard us as being actively anti-Israel and even anti-Semitic. I think it's unfortunate because it is not true." -- Jeremy Bowen

"I'm not a cheerleader for any side" -- Jeremy Bowen

http://tinyurl.com/yx7e2w

I just found out about your site from "Honestreporting.com"

I live on Kibbutz Nahal Oz,on the border of gaza and after reading about Israel being blamed for the civil war In Gaza and of course being blamed for prosecuting the Arab Christians,it seems that terrorist,at least to many in the media,can do anything they want,for they know,that they will not be blamed for anything,because Israel will be.

It seems to me,that the protecters of Terrorist,do more harm to the Arab people,than any weapon can do.

Keep the faith

The email shows "FW:" in the subject which would indicate that JB is forwarding the email, the question is therefore, who did write it.

Professor Karsh, Head of Mediterranean Studies at King's College London, and a leading expert on the modern history of the Middle East, has described Jeremy Bowen's book "Six Days: How the 1967 War changed the Middle East" as "superficial, derivative and rife with standard anti-Israel prejudice, namely, the portrayal of Israel as the source of the ME conflict and the whitewashing of Arab-Palestinian rejection of Israel’s legitimacy and decades of relentless violence against the Jewish state".

Aside from the customary rancid excuses for Palestinian savagery (no Jews or free money available, so obviously they're forced to kill each other), this actually seems slightly better than Bowen's usual silly histrionics. Perhaps that's because he is addressing his fellow apologists at the Beeb rather than the proles, so he finds himself in the unusual position of wanting to convey information, of a sort.

Liberal and left wing commentators, like Bowen, promote an amoral 'objectivity' - one which would have sympathised with the Nazis in the name of objectivity. They have lost their moral compass and cannot distinguish right from wrong, moral from immoral, justifiable from unjustifiable. This is painful and dangerous for Israel and her supporters, fueling anti-semitism and anti Israel sentiment in the west.

However looked at with open eyes, it may be that it is the Palestinians who are the real victims - they have actively participated in becoming a violent, victim people who take joy in the obscenity of having their children blow themselves up. They choose death over life and are encouraged to continue doing so by this 'objective' amoral analysis.

The violence of Palestinian society is bringing the greatest destruction on Palestinians. And one day when they understand that it is the road to nowhere they may ask why educated western people who live in democracies governed by the rule of law did not give them better advice. Why did they not say -Choose life, seek peace with your neighbours and a future for your children. Understand that your leaders who exhorted you leave Israel in 1948 misled you then, your Arab brethen conspired to keep you as refugees were not your friends, your movements of violence and hate have infected your being and will lead to your destruction. Turn back before it is too late.

The BBC has either forgotten or perhaps never learned that Jesus warned, "those who live by the sword, die by the sword." Violence is now deeply imbedded into the Palestinian psyche, so deeply inbeded it may take generations to erase. No longer able to kill Jews thanks to the fence, they're turning on themselves. And despite the spin the BBC wants to put on these tragic events, it has little to do with Israel and everything to do with the terrible choices they have been making.