The Problem in Palestine ...

While the suspension of aid to the Palestinian Authority was inevitable after the election of a Hamas Government, the roots of the problem go back to Yasser Arafat and his Fatah movement, and the lack of backbone the US, UN and Europe had in getting him to clean up his (financial) act after he renounced violence and recognised Israel.

The Israelis reported that Arafat died a billionaire - Forbes magazine estimated his wealth in 2003 as $300 million. Money that was intended to help ordinary Palestinians was diverted to Arafat's personal bank accounts.

Had the US, UN and Europe stopped the flow of money to Arafat and his top officials secret bank accounts by threatening to stop aid until a transparent accounting system was in place, or financing and building such a system - then this problem would not have occured.

So when Hamas campaigned to clean up the corruption that pervaded the top levels of the Palestinian Authority, it was a popular message. In effect, they were campaigning to stop money lining the pockets of top officials to be spent on ordinary citizens. We know in this country how increased social spending is always popular, so this message could only be popular in Palestine.

I sincerely hope that Hamas give in on this issue - a peaceful, corruption free, democratic Palestine will become a good neighbour to Israel. The challenge is now on Hamas to deliver it.