| |

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday will pledge about $300 million in U.S. humanitarian aid for the war-torn Gaza Strip, plus about $600 million in assistance to the Palestinian Authority, a U.S. official said Sunday.

State Department spokesman Robert A. Wood told reporters traveling with Clinton Sunday that she would announce the donations at an international pledging conference at this Red Sea resort. The conference is seeking money for Gaza and the Palestinian economy.

Obama administration officials had indicated last week that the U.S. was preparing to pledge $900 million in assistance for Gaza, but Wood’s description of the plan Sunday indicated that the only portion going directly to rebuilding Gaza was the $300 million. source.

Talk about wasting money, wasting American tax money to something that is worth less than GM stocks.

| |

Related Reading:

Hamas vs. Fatah: The Struggle For PalestineIn June 2007 civil war broke out in the Gaza Strip between two rival Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah. Western peace efforts in the region always focused on reconciling two opposing fronts: Israel and Palestine. Now, this careful exploration of Middle East history over the last two decades reveals that the Palestinians have long been a house divided. What began as a political rivalry between Fatah’s Yasir Arafat and Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin during the first intifada of 1987 evolved into a full-blown battle on the streets of Gaza between the forces of Arafat’s successor, Mahmoud Abbas, and Ismael Haniyeh, one of Yassin’s early protégés. Today, the battle continues between these two diametrically opposing forces over the role of Palestinian nationalism and Islamism in the West Bank and Gaza.
 
In this thought-provoking book, Jonathan Schanzer questions the notion of Palestinian political unity, explaining how internal rivalries and violence have ultimately stymied American efforts to promote Middle East peace, and even the Palestinian quest for a homeland.

Loopholes of the Rich: How the Rich Legally Make More Money and Pay Less TaxLoopholes of the Rich helps Americans from all walks of life use the same tax loopholes that the wealthy use to lower their tax bill. With this handy guide, you won?t need an accountant to find quick and easy ways to pay less. And there?s nothing unethical about these tax loopholes. In fact, the government wants you to take advantage of them! These tax-reducing tactics and strategies can give you the freedom to save for your family?s future or for your own financial independence. Plus, you?ll find a handy checklist of more than 300 business deductions, real-life tax strategy examples, useful sample forms, explanations of IRS codes and rules, and much more.

Christianity and IslamThis collection chronicles the fiction and non fiction classics by the greatest writers the world has ever known. The inclusion of both popular as well as overlooked pieces is pivotal to providing a broad and representative collection of classic works.

Palestine or the Holy Land From the Earliest Period to the Present TimeThis book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

The West Bank and Gaza Strip: A Geography of Occupation and Disengagement

Written in a clear and easy-to-follow style, this revealing text examines the contemporary political geography of the West Bank and Gaza strip.

Descriptive in nature, it documents the changes and developments since 1967 right up to the disengagement from Gaza. The book is supplemented by numerous maps and covers issues including demography, Jewish settlements, water and natural resources, transport infrastructure, planning, partition plans for Jerusalem, settlement policy and the Separation Fence.

One of the first books to tackle this contentious subject from a geographical rather than a political or historical perspective, The West Bank and Gaza Strip will be of huge interest to both undergraduate and graduate students studying the Israel-Palestine question.