by Annika Hernroth-Rothstein
During the press conference on Tuesday, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said the summit featured discussions on the peace process, on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and on the blossoming relationship between Sweden and Palestine after the official recognition. No word on any demands being made on Abbas or the PA for the riches received, nor was there any follow-up on the substantial aid given in previous years.
Palestinian Authority
President Mahmoud Abbas may well be the best paid man in the Middle
East. In the mere 48 hours he spent in Sweden, he managed to bump up the
aid given to Palestine by more than 100 percent, from 820 million
shekels ($211 million) to 1.7 billion shekels ($440 million).
If you're wondering
what promises he had to make to acquire such wealth, the answer is:
none, none at all. During the press conference on Tuesday, Swedish Prime
Minister Stefan Lofven said the summit featured discussions on the
peace process, on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and on the
blossoming relationship between Sweden and Palestine after the official
recognition. No word on any demands being made on Abbas or the PA for
the riches received, nor was there any follow-up on the substantial aid
given in previous years.
When making the
decision to recognize Palestine, the Swedish government said it was a
way of motivating and invigorating the peace process, and Foreign
Minister Margot Wallstrom echoed these words in the government's
official foreign policy statement this Wednesday. The discerning reader
may question this, however, especially since the EU's own financial
investigation into the aid to the PA has found that the PA not only does
not meet the basic provisions for receiving such aid, but that there
also is proof of extended corruption, organized crime and failure to
meet any and all demands for democratic reform.
Had the Swedish
government really been interested in motivating a peace process, one
would assume it would have started by threatening to withhold existing
aid until demands on democratic reform were met. Instead, it doubled the
aid without asking for anything. This is not the action of a decisive
pursuer of peace, but of an enabler, rewarding the partner for bad
behavior.
In Lofven's defense, it
should be said that he reported having spoken to Abbas about the
importance of cooperation with and respect for Israel, as well as the
need for transparency and oversight when it comes to finances within the
PA. Abbas himself said, in response to that statement, that an internal
oversight committee had been formed to handle corruption and possible
financial transgressions, and with that the issue was laid to rest.
The press conference
lasted no more than 30 minutes, following a meeting between Abbas, the
Swedish delegation and the king of Sweden. Together they had celebrated
the official opening of the Palestinian embassy in the heart of
Stockholm, a step up from the interim offices they had previously
occupied, not to mention an important statement to the world. The only
somewhat hard-hitting questions had to do with Fatah's cooperation with
Hamas and the upcoming Palestinian elections -- planned for this year
but with a date yet to be determined. Abbas skillfully avoided answering
the first, and as for the second he said that Fatah was ready to hold
elections as soon as Hamas was, and that it would all be sorted out in
time. It was an odd sight to see, the gathered press corps acting with
timid respect toward a leader currently serving the 10th year of a
four-year term.
By now, Abbas is back
in Ramallah, dealing with plummeting poll numbers and rumors of mutiny
within the ranks. He left in weakness, but thanks to the Swedish
government he returned in strength, having won not only financial
victories but, more importantly, international recognition.
This visit was the
Social Democratic government's chance to redeem itself by demanding
action from Abbas and proving itself to be more than a pro-Palestinian
cheerleader. But that did not happen. Instead, it ended up handing the
PA a blank check and a corner office -- no questions asked.
Annika Hernroth-Rothstein is a
political adviser, activist and writer on the Middle East, religious
affairs and global anti-Semitism.
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=11565
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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