Palestinian Flour Power

While the palestinians claim they do not have enough flour in Gaza, I am glad to see that not only do they have enough to subside on, but they even have extra for their recreational needs.

White flower (sic.), not explosives was packed in a plastic bottle and thrown towards Israeli soldiers by a 15-year-old Palestinian boy who turned up at the Huwwara checkpoint south of Nablus two weeks ago.

The boy, Ra’fat Obeid from the Askar refugee camp, was arrested by Israeli forces and taken into Israeli custody, and was released to Palestinian Authority (PA) police this week.

Details of the events are murky, and officials have bounced blame between poverty, Israel and internally divisive forces.

Details from Palestinian security sources say the Obeid told police that his friend had convinced him to take the bottles filled with flower to the Huwwara checkpoint and surrender himself to Israeli soldiers.

Sources told Ma’an’s Nablus correspondent that Obeid hoped that after his arrest his family would receive a small monthly sum of money from the Palestinian government in compensation for his loss to the family. The PA has a policy of supporting the families of those arrested by the Israeli army.

Security sources explained that Obeid was handed over to his family after they signed several pledges to Palestinian Security Services ensuring that the boy would not try the stunt again. They added, however, that they suspected there was a third party involved which had provided the boys with the flower-stuffed bottles and advised them on the time and place for the plan’s execution. Such a force, said Palestinian Security, was an attempt to corrupt the children of the area.

In other words, palestinian children are wasting flour – which they claim is in short supply – so they can receive money for being arrested. As Elder of Ziyon notes:

Which means that the world is funding the PA which takes a significant amount of its budget to effectively pay salaries to anyone who gets arrested, from terrorists to kids who want a free education in Israeli prison. (A WashPo article from 2006 says that the amount is $220 a month per prisoner, so families with lots of sons in prison can stand to make a pretty penny.)

Meanwhile, a Ma’an News article without the blaming of Israel is like Spain without the running of the bulls.

For his part, the Palestinian official accused Israeli intelligence agencies as being behind the incident. He said that it was a ploy to have vulnerable children arrested and to plant ideas and strategies into their heads.

6 thoughts on “Palestinian Flour Power”

  1. But, but, but hamas just paid $5 mil+ to Jaish al-Islam while providing sanctuary for them in gaza. Couldn’t $223.95 of those funds have been spent on flour for eating purposes? Surely … Spit!!

  2. Nablus aint in Gaza. Not that that really changes anything. Sadly the deprived Gazans have no checkpoints except to pay their tunnel taxes where lots of lots of flour comes through to feed rocket manufacturers.

  3. You know I am normally a supporter, however this post really doesn’t make much sense. Unless there have been major changes in geography since I left Israel, Shchem (Nablus) is not in Gaza and has free access to flour.

  4. For all that is just in the world, stop wasting flour, Ra’fat! How in the world am I supposed to make my pineapple pie for Shabbas? WHEN WILL THE MADNESS END?!?!

    Can anybody spare a cup of flour?

  5. Yes, I realize that Nablus is not in Gaza, but when the palestinians in Gaza are complaining of shortages, it is quite telling that elsewhere they feel the need to waste it.

    So with all due respect, Seth, this post makes sense.

  6. Personally, I would rather they take flour than anything else and, if they get money for this act of “flour-terrorism” and use that money to live on rather than buy more bullets and explosives, that too is fine with me.

    I’m not thrilled with the soldiers wasting their time, but I’d rather they find bottles with flour rather than bullets or explosives.

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