Thursday, November 9, 2017

Meet Planet Priti Patel

The government of PM Theresa May just gets better and better:

"Downing Street has admitted that International Development Secretary Priti Patel discussed with Israel the idea of giving the country British foreign aid cash. A Number 10 spokesman said a conversation had taken place between Ms Patel and Israeli officials, after it was reported that she had suggested funnelling money to the country's armed forces. Theresa May's spokesman highlighted that the country's army runs a hospital for Syrian refugees, but said the UK currently provides no financial support to Israeli forces and that there would be no change in policy.

"Any move to provide aid money to Israeli armed forces which have been engaged in bloody campaigns in Palestinian occupied territories, would prove hugely controversial in the UK. The admission heaps embarrassment on Ms May who was completely unaware that Ms Patel had met the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other key figures on her holiday to the country...

"The Downing Street spokesman said: '[Ms Patel] did discuss potential ways to provide medical support for Syrian refugees who are wounded who cross into the Golan Heights for aid. The Israeli army runs field hospitals there to care for Syrians wounded in the civil war, but there is no change in policy in this area. The UK doesn't provide any financial support to the Israeli army.'...

"Ms Patel only made Ms May aware of the meetings on Friday, more than two months after they took place, when reports began to emerge of talks she held with a politician and a disability charity..." (Priti Patel discussed giving British foreign aid money to Israeli army, Downing Street confirms, Joe Watts, independent.co.uk, 7/11/17)

What a credit to the Tories this woman is!

Not only is she a former tobacco and alcohol industry lobbyist, and a self-confessed Thatcher tragic, but one who, if the Parable of the Good Samaritan were applied to the Middle East, would have you believe that Israel, far from being the thief who stripped Palestine of her raiment, wounded her and left her half-dead, was actually the Good Samaritan:

"I have always been struck by the exceptional achievement that is the state of Israel. A country that has turned desert into fertile and plentiful land. A country that started with nothing, in a struggle for subsistence and survival and is now a world leader in technology and innovation. A country that despite the challenges of a turbulent region has become a democratic success story. A country that is at the forefront of the skills revolution, whether in technology, life skills, vocational skills, and is creating the most practical solutions to enhance the lives of the poorest and most marginalised in the world. The desire and responsibility to want to help others, coupled with a can-do attitude, is precisely the sort of Jewish Homeland that was dreamt by Herzl and was of course supported by the historic letter - the Balfour Declaration." (Priti Patel speech at third BICOM Jewish News conference - GOV.UK, 2/11/17)

Gooo Tories!

8 comments:

Grappler said...

Ah yes - the hospital for Syrian refugees in the Golan Heights.

http://www.newsweek.com/2015/07/03/israel-secret-war-syria-nusra-druze-344433.html

Typical Israeli propaganda. Do a few "good works" that can be beamed to the compliant Western media but 90% of the people treated are young men. Even the normally compliant Newsweek can't make this story smell good.

Grappler said...

She wants to give aid to the military of a country that has an undeclared arsenal of, according to the most conservative estimates, 80 nuclear weapons? To the military of a country that, unlike Australia, gets its F35s for a knock-down price:

http://mondoweiss.net/2016/12/israels-free-ride/

Any country that can afford F35s - even at bargain basement prices - does not need foreign aid.

Grappler said...

Sorry to keep posting, MERC, but I forgot to mention the QME:



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualitative_Military_Edge

With a deal like that, why does Israel need any aid to its armed forces?

Grappler said...

And one more. Israel has a per capita income of around USD36000/yr. Uganda (her parents' home country) has a per capita income of around USD2000 per year -depending a bit on who you ask.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29_per_capita

According to the World Bank that puts Israel ahead of South Korea and only around 20% behind the likes of UK and France.

Grappler said...

And finally - I promise! She's gone:

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/uk-politics-41923007

MERC said...

But G, have you no romance? Can't you see? Priti's in loooove.

Grappler said...

That's where I've been going wrong all these years!

Grappler said...

OK - I said I would stop posting but this story keeps on giving. Here is a good article by Donald Macintyre in the Independent.

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/priti-patel-israel-benjamin-netanyahu-israeli-army-foreign-aid-palestine-a8042251.html

Also an "exclusive" in the Jewish Chronicle saying it has information from "two different [unnamed] sources" that May knew about some of the meetings Patel had with Israeli leaders:

https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/no-10-knew-about-priti-patel-israel-meetings-1.447605

May is probably thinking that with friends like these who needs enemies!