Gaza to receive $6.4 million from the World Bank

Despite starting a war by launching qassam rockets at Israeli civilian population centers in violation of international humanitarian law, the World Bank has decided to donate $6.4 million to Gaza to improve water and sewage services. The Islamic Development Bank is contributing an additional $11.1 million, but there has been no report of safeguard measures to ensure that some of the money will not be used to purchase equipment for future attacks on Israel, Arutz Sheva reported. Given this, the Hamas government is essentially being awarded for waging terror attacks against Israeli citizens.

Hamas has a long record of diverting international aid for its own purposes. Gazan resident Zaed Khader, a Fatah supporter, complained, “People who are not in with Hamas don’t see any of the relief goods or the gifts of money. Hamas supporters get prefabricated housing, furnishings and paid work. We get nothing. We knew Hamas would take the goods for themselves and distribute them at their own discretion. For us, and for many of our friends, it doesn’t make any difference whether the world is trying to help us.” Abu Mohammed a local Gazan businessmen concurred with Khader on this.

A foreign journalist working for the United Arab Emirates newspaper The Nationalist visited Gaza and discovered that the main reason why many Gazans continue to live in immense poverty despite a massive amount of international aid is because Hamas steals a good chunk of the aid. Islamic Jihad commander Abu Musab reported that his former comrades in Hamas “used to be mujahideen, but today are fat millionaires with nice cars.” He furthermore claimed that the vast amount of medical aid sent by Europe is all stolen by Hamas and sold in Hamas pharmacies for a profit, despite the fact that the medicines are stamped “not for resale.”

Furthermore, there are many more documented instances of international aid to Gaza being stolen. Yedioth Achronot reported that Hamas takes cuts out of all of the aid that arrives, even if it is just flour, and then sells the supplies for Hamas profit. The same article also reported that one such convoy of aid trucks passing through the Kerem Shalom checkpoint was seized by Hamas gunmen. Arutz Sheva also declared that an UNRWA warehouse, storing blankets and food, was stolen by Hamas terrorists, and Haaretz reported that donations by the Jordanian Red Crescent were also confiscated by Hamas. In other words, it is routine for Hamas to steal international aid.

However, Hani Almadhoun, a Gaza-based NGO worker, revealed further Hamas corruption. Hamas evidently forces local Palestinian NGOs to fill their board of directors with Hamas supporters and if the NGOs refuse to comply, Hamas shuts them down. According to Almadhoun, “With Hamas sympathizers on the boards of NGOs, Hamas supporters are assured assistance and Hamas ensures loyalty by appearing that it is in full control of all social and humanitarian organizations in Gaza,” which results in aiding Hamas supporters at the expense of other Palestinians. Yet, despite all of these documented instances of Hamas corruption of international aid, the World Bank still plans on giving $6.4 million to Gaza for sewage treatment.

PLEASE ACT NOW FOR ISRAEL BY PROTESTING THE WORLD BANK GIVING MONEY TO GAZA!

Phone Number: 1 (800) 831-0463
E-mail: investigations_hotline@worldbank.org

Dear Sir,

It has come to my attention that the World Bank is planning on donating $6.4 million to improve water and sewage services in Gaza, with no reported insurance mechanism that the money won’t be diverted for other purposes, despite the fact that Hamas has a long record of diverting aid to serve its own agenda. International aid has been pouring into Gaza for years. However, most of the population is not benefiting from this international help, but rather the Hamas regime, since Hamas pockets most of the money for their own people.

For example, Islamic Jihad commander Abu Musab reported that his former comrades in Hamas “used to be mujahideen, but today are fat millionaires with nice cars.” He also claimed that the vast amount of medical aid sent by Europe is stolen by Hamas and sold in Hamas pharmacies for a profit, despite the fact that the medicines are stamped “not for resale.” Furthermore, an official within the Political Bureau of Hamas who is also responsible for the funds received from UNRWA bought 7.5 acres of land and registered the land on his and his brother’s name.

These but are a few of many examples of international aid to Gaza being diverted for the benefit of Hamas. Given this situation, I believe that it is not wise for the World Bank to be donating so much money to Gaza, especially without a reported mechanism in place to ensure that no aid money is diverted for purposes other than what the money was intended to do.

All the best,

Your Name

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