THERE may be an economic crisis in Israel but let's not be fooled into believing that this is the sole preserve of of the members of a middle class social protest movement who are camping out in fancy tents and generally looking like they're enjoying the long summer holidays. Let's also state upfront that no one is denying anyone the right to protest against high food prices, rents and the general cost of living. But it leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of freedom-loving people everywhere to see attention being given to these Israelis and being diverted from the plight of millions of poverty-stricken Palestinian refugees eking out a living in the refugee camps and Palestine itself, who do not even have houses to speak of, let alone land of their own. As this article is being written, the Apartheid Israeli government, voted into power by these very same middle classes, is funding thugs forcing Palestinians out of their homes in the occupied territories. At the same time, settlement building on stolen land continues unabated. No one on the streets of Tel Aviv appears to be talking about this at all. We therefore welcome the Saudi government's continued reminders to the world of the injustices being perpetrated on the Palestinians. This government has not only voiced its concerns but has consistently provided much-needed aid over many decades since the Yaum Al-Nakba “Day of the Catastrophe” when the Israeli state was created in May 1948. A few days ago, the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), announced it will fund refugee housing in Rafah, Gaza, to the tune of $71.5 million. The Rafah housing project, which began in 2005, has been halted for over three years by the Israeli blockade. It will now start again following the announcement in July of a partial lifting of the siege to allow a number of housing and school projects to go ahead under the auspices of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Overall the project will comprise a minimum of 1,500 houses and associated facilities including schools, health and social service facilities, roads, sewage and electricity. This all comes at a time when the Palestinians need as much support as possible. __
