Thank You, Palestinian Style

As posted on Little Green Footballs today, here's the latest example of political cartoons coming from the Palestinian government:



Can anybody help me understand why the United States sent these vermin $274 million last year? To put this into perspective, the budget of the Palestinian Authority last year was $1.8 billion, so the United States financed over 15% of the entire cost of running the Palestinian government. Part of this funding was a result of George Bush using his congressionally authorized waiver to redirect $50 million of USAID funding directly to the Palestinian Authority. The cartoon above does a great job in conveying the gratitude of the Palestinian government. (Details of Palestinian funding can be found in this Congressional report.)

As we consider whether or not to continue financial support of the Palestinan government, let's remember that these are the same people who:

Called for the death of anyone who published Mohammed cartoons

Send children armed with toy guns to the border fence of the Gaza strip hoping to promote a violent (and presumably deadly) response from Israeli security forces

Use suicide bombers as a primary diplomacy tool with Israel

Will not recognize Israel's right to exist.

It's time to end this charade of pretending the Palestinians will ever be partners in peace. It's time to end all financial support for the Palestinian government, and let nature take its course in Gaza and the West Bank.