Selective use of quotes in the Washington Post

I was reading the World Opinion Round up in the WaPo this morning and got to the section that was concerning world opinion on the issue of providing funding to Hamas. When you read this blurb:

The monarchist Jordan Times welcomed the U.S. announcement over the weekend that it would continue to provide some aid to Palestinians via nongovernmental organizations.

"Since a substantial amount of US aid is given directly to infrastructure projects outside the [Palestinian Authority], Washington, for all its bluster, appears to have started reconciling itself with the new democratic Palestinian reality," the Jordan Times editors said Sunday.

This hints that Jordon is not opposed to the new government in Palestine. What is interesting though is that this editorial continues on to state:

Unfortunately, as throughout the Intifada, Israel is continuing its targeting of Palestinians. Its recent bombardment of northern Gaza and incursions into the Balata refugee camp near Nablus seem evidence, if such was needed, that Israel has not learnt any lessons from the recent past. Indeed, at a time when Palestinian groups are largely holding fire, the only rational explanation for the recent Israeli escalation is that Israel is hoping it will provoke a reaction. Perhaps Israel is afraid of the outside world fully accepting the results of Palestinian elections.

The international community needs to step in to ensure that Israel ceases such provocation. Palestinians would be wise to maintain their cool, however difficult it may be.

That to me is a much more important statement than the one Jefferson Morley selected from the Jordon Times. I also find it very ironic that Morely doesn't stress that Israel's decision to not give Palestine tax revenue is the largest issue here. The dollar amount of US aid to Palestine is miniscule when compared to what Israel is going to cut off. It's also important to recognize that the Palestine people are not responding to the violence by Israel. Yet there is very little attention placed on this in the US media. If Israel continues, eventually violence will happen and only those of us who have been paying attention will realize what led up to it.

As CNN reports:

The European Union said Monday that it will give the Palestinian Authority $143 million in emergency aid before the newly elected Hamas leadership forms a Palestinian government.

The US is on the one hand threatening to cut off funding, demanding the return of 50 million dollars and then saying they think the EU funding is "welcome"?

This was also not mentioned in the WaPo piece though it is the source used for most of this article:

Qatar's Al Watan daily on February 22 blasted the Bush administration's attempts to persuade Arabs to stop assistance to "their Palestinian brothers", saying that the joint American-Israeli blackmail was intended to force the Palestinians to accept the occupation.

The pro-government paper asked what right US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had to incite Arabs against their Arab brothers by stopping funds to the Palestinians "while it [Washington] supports Israeli terrorism, finances Jewish settlements and protects Israeli crimes".