(New Republic/Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Patrick Clawson - Last week's G8 summit produced a decision to double international aid to the Palestinian Authority - to $2 billion per year. While the announcement has been widely lauded, in fact, it will not help - and it may very well hurt. The West Bank and Gaza simply cannot absorb this much money effectively. Much of it will end up going to waste; and worse, it may be used for corrupt purposes, feeding cynicism among ordinary Palestinians and thereby undermining the shaky legitimacy of the PA. The writer is deputy director of the Washington Institute.
2005-07-21 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive