Member nations of the Arab League decided at a meeting Sunday in Cairo to unlock the funds they have withheld from the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority government. The emergency meeting was convened by Arab foreign ministers to discuss the recent IDF military operation in which 18 PA Arabs were accidentally killed when artillery fire missed its intended terrorist target in the Gaza town of Beit Hanoun.The hypocrisy of the Arab League knows no bounds and its silence on the deliberate Kassam targeting by Hamas against Israeli civilians is duly noted.
Bahrain Foreign Minister Sheik Khalid bin Ahmen Al Khalifa said after the meeting, “We decided not to cooperate with [the blockade]. There will no longer be an international siege,” signaling the Arab body's move to break the U.S.-led international ban on transferring funds to the PA.
The decision came in retaliation for the aborted resolution by the United Nations Security Council condemning Israel for last week’s military mishap. The resolution was vetoed by the United States. Four nations abstained from the vote, including the United Kingdom, Denmark, Japan and Slovakia.
In a statement last week, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa strongly condemned the U.S. decision to veto the resolution. “It is unacceptable that veto authority be used to protect Israel following her actions against civilians," he said.
What is novel is the Arab League's rationale for breaking ranks of the economic blockade under the pretense that it is somehow unfair for a UN member country to exercise its' executive veto power over a UN resolution.
What should be interesting to watch is how long the EU and other western allies will maintain the economic blockade against a Hamas Palestinian Authority now that the Arab League has broken ranks.
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