U.S. to Give $900 Million to Gaza

Talk about throwing money down a rathole:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States plans to offer more than $900 million to help rebuild Gaza after Israel's invasion and to strengthen the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, U.S. officials said on Monday.

The money, which needs U.S. congressional approval, will be distributed through U.N. and other bodies and not via the militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza, said one official.

"This money is for Gaza and to help strengthen the Palestinian Authority. It is not going to go to Hamas," said the official, who asked not to be named as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton planned to announce the funding at a donors' conference in Egypt next week.

Maybe 10% of those funds will go into actual rebuilding. The rest will be skimmed or used to buy weapons for the next war with Israel.

Is this the "fiscal responsibility" Obama was talking about in his little conference yesterday?