The “financial sequel” to last month’s Annapolis peace conference occurred in Paris on Monday as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with international donors. This conference was co-chaired by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to convince the international community to donate more money to the Palestinian cause. “Without this support,” Abbas pleaded, “we will be facing total catastrophe in the West Bank and Gaza.” He went on to ask for $5.6 billion over the next three years in order to prop up the Palestinian economy.

The Palestinians’ efforts paid off: They got $7.4 billion from the international community. The list of donors included the United States, Britain, Saudi Arabia and nations across Europe. The biggest donor was the European Union, which pledged $650 million for 2008. Germany promised another $200 million by 2010.

“We see this as an important vote of confidence from the international community. This confidence provided endorsement for our vision of statehood,” commented Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

European and other nations are injecting billions of dollars into the Palestinian economy in hopes that they will be able to establish an independent Palestinian state. Even Israel has in recent months agreed to turn over withheld tax revenue to the Palestinians in an attempt to boost the Palestinian economy.

This is an unprecedented amount of financial aid to the Palestinians.

Will it be put to productive use? In 1999, financial aid to the Palestinians was almost nothing; by 2006, it was $750 million. Over that same period, the Palestinian per capita income has dropped 40 percent, and unemployment is up to 23 percent.

Also interesting to note: Records show that in the past, the amount of financial aid available has directly correlated to the number of people killed by Palestinian militants.

Financial aid has not helped the situation in the past. Now, more money is on the way.

There are serious doubts as to how much control so-called moderates like Abbas have over the militant factions within the Palestinian Authority. Granted, most of the 600 violent deaths that occurred in 2007 probably occurred in Hamas-controlled Gaza, but Fatah has its militant organizations too. One would think the international community would want to see some fruits that the money it gave in the past was producing positive results before it volunteers billions more.

In an effort to help Palestinian Authority security forces in the tasks ahead, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for an international peace-keeping force to “lend its support to the Palestinian security services … when the time comes and conditions are right.” Abbas heartily accepted Sarkozy’s proposals, saying that the Palestinians “are going to strive for it to become an international position.”

The bottom line is that the Palestinians are opposed to Israel, and all the money and troops Europe offers them will only be used to undermine Israel’s presence in the region.

As the United States declines in power, both the Israelis and the Palestinians will look increasingly to Europe to solve their problems. For more information on where this will lead, read Jerusalem in Prophecy by Gerald Flurry.