Terrorist Attack in West Bank as Sweden Steps up Funding

On Wednesday night there was a terrorist attack near Givat HaRoeh in the Binyamin region.

Two people were taken to hospital with light wounds after the attack - which some Israeli sources blamed on the Obama administration-inspired removal of IDF roadblocks in the West Bank:

Two Israelis were wounded on Wednesday night in a terrorist shooting in the Binyamin region, located 20 miles north of Jerusalem. Samarian Residents' Council head Benny Katzover linked the dismantling of IDF checkpoints to attacks on Israeli civilians, and warned that “when it comes to security, we will be in a state of anarchy, due to American pressure [to remove IDF security roadblocks].”

Soldiers are searching for the attackers, who fled the scene.

The victims were taken to Jerusalem-area hospitals for treatment. Both are reported to be suffering from light wounds.

The attack took place near Givat HaRoeh. IDF officials believe terrorists may have fired on the vehicle from a passing car. However, at least one resident of a nearby outpost reported seeing suspicious figures near the road shortly before the attack.

Israel has taken several steps to improve mobility for Palestinian Authority Arabs in the Binyamin and Samaria regions in recent months. Dozens of IDF checkpoints have been removed, and at one of the largest Samaria checkpoints, Huwarra, soldiers no longer check Arab travellers for weapons.

"The IDF said that as soon as something happens they'll start checking for weapons again, but we have all heard that before,” he added.

MK Yaakov Katz (Ketzaleh) of the National Union party blamed the Wednesday night attack on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for caving into U.S. pressure, and pursuing policies which make it easier for Arab terrorists to move about freely in Jewish-populated areas. Netanyahu's policy of fawning to the Arabs, his willingness to release terrorists and his fear of Jewish growth in Judea and Samaria encourage terrorism, Katz said.

Of course, on the day this attack took place, Sweden announced that it is pledging a further $6.9 million in aid to the Palestinian authority, which it calls 'beleaguered':

Sweden has agreed to pay direct support of 50 million kronor ($6.9 million) to the beleaguered Palestinian Authority, the foreign ministry announced on Wednesday.

The money is to help pay for wages and pensions to civilians, the government said.

"A functioning Palestinian Authority is a prerequisite for a peaceful and sustainable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," International Development Cooperation Minister Gunilla Carlsson said in a statement.

"The Palestinian Authority is in a very difficult economic situation," she added.

Sweden's total support to the Palestinians is expected to exceed 700 million kronor this year.

Stockholm disbursed 4.73 billion dollars in development aid last year, or almost one percent of its gross domestic product, making it the world's most generous donor, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Aside from trivialities such as wondering when the day will come when they are unable to pay their own people generous benefits, let alone everyone else's it must have occurred to them that after the events in January, Hamas were getting all the weapon money, which just isn't fair.

Of course, the wonderfully moderate and democratic Fatah have their own problems, such as covering up torture:

Senior Hamas official Mahmud Zahar said on Monday that he had asked for Arab intervention in ending the "detention and torture" of the Islamist movement's members by Fatah rivals in the West Bank.

"I ask the conscience of all who are watching and listening: can there be reconciliation when a person dies every day under torture?" he asked at a Cairo news conference after a Hamas activist died in a West Bank prison.

Security officials said Fadi Hamadneh, 22, who was arrested by the Palestinian Authority intelligence services in June, "committed suicide" on Monday. Hamas insisted in a statement that he died following "brutal torture".

Strangely, the Left-wing bleaters are nowhere to be heard on this one - best just pay up and ask no questions, eh?