Speak Out

							2/17/97

Letters To the Editor
The Philadelphia Inquirer
P.O. Box 8263
Phil. Pa. l9l0l 
Fax: (215) 854-4483

Dear Sir:

    Trudy Rubin blames Israel's closing of  its borders to Palestinian 
workers as the major cause of Palestinian poverty ["Poverty threatens 
Mideast peace" Feb. 12)   But this blame is misdirected.  The 
Palestinian Authority's refusal to rid itself of terrorist bases 
under its control is what  keeps the borders tightly controlled.  

     This is only one example of  the Palestinian Authority's disregard 
for its own people. Its failure to curb terrorism blocks the United 
States from continuing with its aide package to the Palestinians, 
under the Middle East Peace Compliance Act of 1995. 

     At  the height of the peace process foreign countries contributed a 
total of $2.1 billion to the Palestinian Authority.  But as Rubin 
points out in her editorial,  Palestinian income has plummeted since 
the peace process.  The Palestinian Economic Council for Development 
and Reconstruction  (PECDAR),  in charge of  receiving and disbursing 
these funds, is completely under the control of  Yasir Arafat.  
Development projects such as Karni "has languished on the planning 
boards"  because Arafat has used  donors' funds to build his military 
machine, subsidize his political activities and line the pockets of 
his senior aides. 

    Private investors can anticipate their money  finding its way to the 
personal bank account of  Muhammond Rashid, Arafat's economic advisor.
 One does not have to guess why Palestinian Authority officials drive 
their luxurious Mercedeses through the poverty sticken streets of 
Gaza. 

    Under this backdrop Trudy Rubin suggests that some of the $3 billion 
of annual U.S. aid to Israel be "deflected" to the Palestinian 
Authority. Israel re-invests almost all of  its US military aide back 
to the United States which helps keep American workers employed.  
Let's ask these American workers if they would like to have this 
money "deflected" to the Palestinian Authority. 

     And while we're on the topic of billions, just a few months ago 
Libyan dictator Mohamar Kaddafy  offered the Nation of Islam 
$1 billion which the U.S. blocked.  Why doesn't Trudy Rubin suggest 
that Libya  give this spare billion to Yasir Arafat?  Should Israel 
be expected to do more for Palestinian Arabs than their own brethren? 


    The fact of the matter is, no country in the world  has done more for 
the Palestinians than Israel.  


								Leonard Getz
								Merion

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