The bomb is ticking away in Palestine

Today may be May 10, 2006, for those who follow the Gregorian calendar, but it is March 71 for the 160,000 employees in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) who have yet to receive their March salaries! The US is punishing the Palestinians who have no option but to continue to work and suffer under strange American standards.

There is no sign that the long month of March will come to an end for the Palestinian employees. Nor when it finally does is there any indication of how long April will turn out to be. We will have to wait and watch the dramatic changes in calendar dates being enforced by the US.

And speaking about dates, some pessimistic Palestinians believe the US might also choose to set a zero date for eliminating the existence of Palestine as a nation on this earth.

The American administration is not too happy with the outcome of democracy in Palestine and they may choose to express their irritation in a manner that suits them.

Anything is possible in this unipolar world after the US decided to stop aid to Palestine in the aftermath of Hamas assuming power a decision that been abided by EU countries and the rest of the world including the 21 member countries of the Arab League.

However, this is not the first time the US has demonstrated its unlimited power in manipulating the fate of the Palestinians. For those who remember, the US failed to enforce the 2005 date set for establishing an independent Palestinian state as promised by President George W. Bush following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

Disappointing

For many Palestinians and freedom lovers around the world, the ability and the willingness of Washington to fulfil its promises have failed to materialise.

The problem of the 160,000 government employees in Palestine, who constitute more than 20 per cent of the total work force, is not just a simple delay of their salaries.

This they can deal with through their credit cards, a bank overdraft facility, or for the less privileged perhaps the use of post-dated cheques to their neighbourhood groceries. The issue of salary delay affects the economy which depends to a great extent on money circulation for its growth.

The Palestinian economy is passing through difficult times and things could get worse because none of the various sectors can function properly if government employees are not paid. Even fruit and vegetable vendors in Gaza who used to roam the streets selling their produce are now sitting idle waiting for the US to allow donors to transfer the salaries of employees to the banks.

The little hope that rose during Mahmoud Abbas's visit to France has faded away after the parties involved realised that Jacques Chirac's proposal to pay the PNA employees through the presidential institution instead of paying them directly through a government led by Hamas is not workable, and is illegal according to the Palestinian Constitution.

The current financial embargo imposed by the US against the Palestinians and enforced by the rest of the world suggests that the American administration is either waiting for the employees to revolt against Hamas and wreck a democratically elected government or for Hamas to recognise Israel while the latter can continue to kill Palestinians wherever and whenever it wants.

However, the US administration should know that none of the above options will work with Hamas and the Palestinian people, and the deadlock it has created in the region should be resolved quickly lest it explodes out of control. The current situation in Palestine is a recipe for disaster that will break out as soon as the people realise there will be no end to March.