This just makes me sick... Rice was there to make sure the U.S. pledged $555 million of it.
Big Morning for Pal. Auth.: Over $2 Billion Already Pledgedby Hillel Fendelhttp://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124602Though PA leader Mahmoud Abbas has taken no steps to stop terrorism against Israel, he is being greeted at an international conference in Paris with admiration - and money.
The purpose of the one-day conference is to raise up to $5.6 billion dollars to help the Palest¡n¡an Authority partially realize its dream of becoming a full-fledged state in the Land of Israel. Though its long-term goal is to replace Israel altogether, as indicated by some of its textbooks and public television shows, at present it is working on forming a state in Gaza, Judea and Samaria alone.
Before the conference even began, the United States had pledged $555 million, the European Union $650 million, and Germany and Great Britain together - $780 million. Japan then stepped in with another $150 million. Delegates from 70 countries and 20 global organizations are present at the Paris conference.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy welcomed Abbas to the Elysée Palace ahead of the meeting, while U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice met with Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni at the home of the American ambassador to France.
PA leaders have expressed the hope and confidence that the summit will deal not only with money, but also with politics. In fact, many of the speakers are expected to pressure Israel to remove checkpoints from Palest¡n¡an Authority roads. The checkpoints are in place in order to prevent terrorists from freely traveling and disseminating weapons for the purpose of attacking Jews.
Livni: PA Must Fight Terrorism - But We Won't Let Continued Terrorism Stop the Negotiations
Foreign Minister Livni, apparently a lone voice at the conference, emphasized the Palest¡n¡an Authority's obligation to fight terrorism - though not in an ultimative manner. She explained why Israel agreed, at Annapolis, to forego its just demand for an end to terrorism before embarking on final-status talks:
"The Road Map states that a reform [in the PA leadership] and an end to terrorism are pre-conditions for political negotiations. This is still valid. However, we and our Palest¡n¡an partners agreed that the two nations deserve a more solid vision, and that true peace can be attained only if we create the basic conditions for it to strike roots... We therefore decided to begin final-status talks already now, parallel to the practical implementation of the Road Map."
Livni also said that Israel would not let continued terrorism stop the talks:
"It is enticing to get into mutual recriminations or to find reasons to stop the talks, but we must rise above all this... The situation in which Hamas has taken over Gaza and brings terrorism to Israeli homes every day along with hardships for the Palest¡n¡an population, while Gilad Shalit is still a captive, is very disturbing for us. The wantonness, the incitement, the arms-smuggling and the terrorism have not ceased. All this can be a great excuse for doing nothing - but our decision not to give in to them must be even stronger."
"Israel is committed to the establishment of a viable Palest¡n¡an state," Livni said, while also announcing that an agreement will be signed in the coming days that will enable the European Union to train PA police forces. Two PA policemen were recently arrested for the shooting murder of young Israeli father Ido Zoldan near Kedumim.
Many speakers called on Israel to stop construction in Judea and Samaria; Abbas said this must be done "without excuses," adding that Israel must also evacuate all illegal outposts, remove checkpoints, and stop building the anti-terrorism partition wall.
Israel does not expect the Arab states to follow through on their total pledges to the Fatah-run Palest¡n¡an Authority, in order not to antagonize Hamas. In the past, the gap between the pledges to the PA by Arab and other nations, and actual monies given, has been very large.