A government watchdog group is calling on Canada’s Foreign Affairs Department to say precisely how it intends to monitor funds it has committed to the Palestinian Authority.
The Ottawa-based Canadian Coalition for Democracy (CCD) – a right-wing, non-profit group that describes itself as a non-partisan multifaith coalition concerned with national security and foreign policy issues – wants the federal government to detail how hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the PA won’t find its way into the hands of terrorists.
In a statement last week, the group said that it’s “deeply concerned that our tax dollars continue to fund the glorification of terror, the incitement of children and adults, a steady diet of Jew-hatred, and endless dependency on foreign aid, all being promoted by the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority and its military wing Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, a designated terrorist entity in Canada.”
CCD president Alastair Gordon called on Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier to expand on his declaration last year that Canadian funding to the PA “is not unconditional. We will need to see … a viable Palestinian state that is democratic, accountable, and living in peace and security as a neighbour to Israel.”
Bernier made the comments last December at the Paris Conference, when Canada pledged $300 million to the Palestinian Authority over the next five years as part of a world effort to help continue the Mideast peace process in the wake of last fall’s Annapolis Conference.
The CCD said it was spurred to make its statement by the March 6 massacre at Yeshivat Mercaz Harav in Jerusalem, where Ala Abu Dhaim, an Arab-Israeli and alleged Hamas sympathizer, murdered eight students and wounded nine others before being killed by an Israeli SWAT team.
It said it became more troubled with the issue after reports out of Israel indicated that the Fatah-run daily newspaper, Al Hayat Al Jadida, displayed a picture of Abu Dhaim on its front page, with the caption “The Shahid,” extolling him as a holy warrior and a martyr to be emulated.
“The continued existence of Mahmoud Abbas’ terrorist military wing… the anointing of Abu Dhaim as a shahid, and a governing Palestinian charter that calls for the destruction of Israel. These abominations all serve to perpetuate the death cult that imbues much of Palestinian culture, a culture that Canada should not bankroll,” Gordon said.
Shimon Fogel, CEO of the Canada-Israel Committee, was less anxious about the issue, noting that the government had yet to send any of the $300 million to the PA.
“I understand why the CCD issued the statement they did. But the government hasn’t completed the process of putting together those criteria. They’re absolutely committed to doing that,” Fogel told The CJN last week from Ottawa.
“[The CIC] is not just satisfied that they’re committed to doing it. We’re satisfied with the opportunities available to us to help make the [monitoring] criteria constructive.”
In an e-mail response to The CJN’s queries, a spokesperson for Bernier wrote: “In line with Government of Canada policy and Canadian anti-terrorism legislation, we will ensure due diligence to make sure that Canadian funds do not directly or indirectly benefit Hamas or other terrorist groups listed under Canadian law.
“All funding and funding mechanisms will be thoroughly examined to meet the highest standards of transparency and accountability.”
