Zookeeping: Palestinian Style

The Jerusalem Post reports that Abu Mazen, alleged peace partner, has agreed to release funds held by Hamas in Palestinian banks. Originally these bank accounts were frozen in 2003 by Abu Mazen when he served as Prime Minister to the Palestinian Authority. The article suggests that Abu Mazen only froze the Hamas bank accounts as the results of pressure applied by the US.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has agreed to unfreeze Hamas funds held in a number of Palestinian banks, Palestinian sources in Gaza City said Monday. The sources said Hamas leaders who met with Abbas last Saturday raised the subject, urging him to rescind an earlier decision to freeze the funds. They said Abbas accepted the Hamas request and decided to release the funds, including a private bank account belonging to slain Hamas leader and founder Ahmed Yassin.

One source said the move was taken to encourage Hamas to abide by the truce declared by Abbas recently. He noted that Hamas was facing a severe financial crisis as a result of the decision to freeze its funds.

The world must be ending when it is not perceived as a desirable state that a terrorist organization has to pinch pennies or lacks the financial resources to carry out "martyrdom operations" effectively.