No one could see this coming huh??

Palestine’s economic lifelines are seriously threatened following a landslide election victory yesterday for the terrorist organisation Hamas.

Israel has threatened to withhold millions of dollars worth of tax and customs revenue that it collects on behalf of the Palestinians unless Hamas renounces its charter commitment to eradicate the Jewish state.

Mazen Sinokrot, Palestine’s economy minister, said that unless Israel handed over the $40-50 million it transfers each month, the Palestinian Authority could face a financial crisis as soon as next week.

The Israeli finance minister Joseph Bachar explained his country’s unwillingness to transfer the money, telling the World Economic Forum: “We? face practical problems of how you deal with people that call for the destruction of Israel.”

Mr Sinokrot said the threat was a provocation to his people. He told journalists: “This is not donor money. They have to bring the money, the money for the Palestinian people, they cannot really think otherwise.

Funny, “they HAVE to bring the money”…the gall of these terrorists.?

Meanwhile, a former World Bank chief has said the international donors who prop up Palestine’s ailing economy would not be willing to fund a nation run by terrorists.

James Wolfensohn said international donors would refuse to support the state in the face of political uncertainty.

“The Palestinians are basically bankrupt at the moment,” he said.

Bankrupt financially and bankrupt morally.?

If Hamas takes control of the Palestinian government, as now appears likely, all U.S. aid to the Palestinian people will be put under review, the Bush administration said Friday.

“We do not and will not give money to a terrorist organization,” proclaimed White House press secretary Scott McClellan. Said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack: “The law and our policies state that no money goes to terrorist organizations.”

This year, the U.S. government is providing $150 million in U.S. assistance for Palestinian development and other needs, McCormack said. Another $84 million is distributed through the United Nations.

[...]Urging Hamas to renounce terrorism, which the late Yasser Arafat did under U.S. urging in 1988, Bush said, “If your platform is the destruction of Israel it means you are not a partner in peace. And we’re interested in peace.”

At a White House news conference Thursday, Bush said a party that seeks Israel’s destruction “is a party with which we will not deal.” But he also said, “Peace is never dead because people want peace.”

Bush himself had left open the possibility of halting aid to the Palestinians if their government winds up dominated by Hamas, a militant Islamic group listed by the State Department as a terrorist organization. This year, the Palestinians are receiving $150 million for development programs on the West Bank and in Gaza.

The threat was echoed on Capitol Hill by a nonbinding Senate resolution condemning Hamas and expressing support for halting assistance to the Palestinian government.

The symbolic resolution, crafted by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., says aid should be ended if the party controlling the Palestinian parliament advocates the destruction of Israel, which Hamas does. It was unclear when the Senate would vote on the proposal.

Congress’ reluctance to continue U.S. financial support was also illustrated by lawmakers’ comments, including remarks by House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.

“Hamas has shown that it prefers terrorism against innocent civilians to pursue its political aims, and the United States should play no role in assisting a majority terrorist parliament,” Hastert said in a statement.?

Guess you would call this a big WHOOPS!