Darfur Aid Dollars Funding West Bank Settlements

Persons working with aid organizations assisting the victims of the Darfur conflict have passed on the news that they have confirmed through their contacts in the so called "Save Darfur Coalition" that millions of dollars raised to help the Darfur refugees have ended up in Israeli bank accounts. These accounts help fund programs that include illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

These sources inside the pro-Israel organizations that control the "Save Darfur Coalition" estimate that over $100 million was raised for Darfur, though the exact amount may never be known due to the murky nature of the financial statements these organizations submit. What is known is that over half the money raised for Darfur was consumed by "operational expenses" for these organizations, meaning bloated salaries, expense accounts and the multimillion dollar publicity campaign that helped generate the donations. Only about 10 percent of the donations received ever made it to the Darfur refugees, with several million ending up in Israeli bank accounts.'

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Officials Puzzle Over Billions of Dollars (CASH) Leaving Afghanistan by Plane for Dubai

A blizzard of bank notes is flying out of Afghanistan -- often in full view of customs officers at the Kabul airport -- as part of a cash exodus that is confounding U.S. officials and raising concerns about the money's origin.

The cash, estimated to total well over $1 billion a year, flows mostly to the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai, where many wealthy Afghans now park their families and funds, according to U.S. and Afghan officials. So long as departing cash is declared at the airport here, its transfer is legal.

But at a time when the United States and its allies are spending billions of dollars to prop up the fragile government of President Hamid Karzai, the volume of the outflow has stirred concerns that funds have been diverted from aid. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, for its part, is trying to figure out whether some of the money comes from Afghanistan's thriving opium trade. And officials in neighboring Pakistan think that at least some of the cash leaving Kabul has been smuggled overland from Pakistan.'

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Saudi Arabia Asks For Aid if World Cuts Dependence on Oil

There are plenty of needy countries at the U.N. climate talks in Bangkok that make the case they need financial assistance to adapt to the impacts of global warming. Then there are the Saudis.

Saudi Arabia has led a quiet campaign during these and other negotiations — demanding behind closed doors that oil-producing nations get special financial assistance if a new climate pact calls for substantial reductions in the use of fossil fuels.

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Not One Penny Has Reached Gaza

It has been six months since the international community pledged nearly US$5 billion (Dh18bn) in aid to the Palestinian people, chiefly for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip after Israel’s devastating offensive there this year.

None of this aid has reached Gaza and no reconstruction has started.

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US 'Will Not' Cut Cash Flow to Israel

The White House has dismissed speculations that the US is considering economic sanctions to force Israel into freezing its West Bank settlement activity.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said on Thursday that a remark made by deputy spokesman Robert Wood on Wednesday had been misinterpreted.

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Israeli Protesters Block Humanitarian Aid to Gaza

As the 1.5 million residents of the Gaza Strip struggle to rebuild their society with mud in the face of a crippling official blockade by the Israeli government, hundreds of Israeli protesters arrived at the border today to block what little humanitarian aid the government deigns to allow in, forcing the military to close the crossings entirely for much of the day.

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The Ugly Truth About Foreign Aid in Afghanistan

Exorbitant sums of international aid to Afghanistan are being lavished by Western aid agencies on their own officials in the conflict-stricken country.

"In the United States, Britain, and other countries, people work and taxpayers pay money that goes to help Afghanistan to build roads, dams, and electricity lines," Ramazan Bashardost, an Afghan parliament member and former planning minister, said.

Bashardost added, "But when the money comes to Afghanistan, it's spent on those people who have cars costing USD 60,000 and who live in houses with a USD 15,000 monthly rent. This money goes to these expenses -- 90 percent logistics and administration."

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Egypt seizes $2m aid meant for Gazans

Egyptian security forces have arrested a man who was attempting to transfer USD 2 million of aid to the beleaguered Gaza Strip. The man, named Hassan Mohamed Hassouna, was trying to take the sum to the northern Sinai Peninsula from which it was supposed to reach the Palestinians, in desperate need of aid after three weeks of Israeli onslaught. Last week, however, the Egyptian security forces arrested Hassouna, his driver and eight-year-old son in Cairo before putting the three in detention, Reuters reported. The arrest follows other instances in which Cairo prevented the Israeli-blockaded coastal strip from receiving financial assistance.

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Read the Fine Print: Only One-third of US Pledge at Gaza Conference to go to Gaza, None of it for Rebuilding

One of the headlines coming out of the Gaza donors conference currently being held in Egypt is the US's pledge of $900 million for the Palestinians. What is getting less attention is that only one third of that will actually go to Gaza and none of that can be used for rebuilding.

State Department spokesperson Robert A. Wood said that the breakdown of the $900 million was: $300 million for "urgent humanitarian needs" in Gaza; $200 million to help the Palestinian Authority meet its budget; and $400 million for the authority's programs to improve governance, security and economic development.

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Iran to Set up Hospital Near Gaza

Iran is to set up a field hospital near the Gaza Strip in Egypt as the death toll from Israeli raids stands at 420, Iran's Red Crescent Society says.

"Iranian diplomats are trying to reach an agreement (with Egyptian officials) for setting up a hospital," said Masoud Khatami, head of Iran's Red Crescent Society on Thursday.

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Iran to Send Relief Ship to Gaza

Iran's Red Crescent announced on Wednesday that it is sending a relief ship to the Gaza Strip, in the face of an Israeli blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory.
"We are sending a consignment of a 1,000 tonnes on a ship to Gaza the beginning of next week," Red Crescent secretary general Ahmad Moussavi was quoted as saying on the organisation's website.
"There is the possibility of our ship being blocked just as the Libyan ship was blocked," he added referring to a vessel intercepted by Israel a month ago.

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