Americans are tired of seeing hard-earned tax dollars ($213 million a year!) going to terrorists and murderers.

In a survey of 1,000 Americans conducted on July 14-15 by McLaughlin Associates, 74.1 percent of respondents said they oppose the Bush administration’s annual aid package to the Palestinians, while just 10.4% said they support it….

The poll also found that 77.3% of Americans oppose the idea of stationing US troops in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, while 12.5% support it.

A few of the more intelligent German politicians are tired of it too, seeing as Arafat recently wired millions into a private account:

Allegations that Arafat misappropriated international funds emerged earlier this week when German public broadcaster ARD ran a report with documents showing that Arafat wired $5.1 million in September 2001 to a personal account at the Arab Bank in Cairo. The report said the millions may also have included international aid money.

In light of the allegations, CDU’s spokesman on Middle East policy, Ruprecht Polenz, called for the blocking of Arafat’s account, “in which aid money is apparently sitting illegally.” However, Polenz warned against taking blanket financial sanctions against the Palestinian Authority — a move he said could strengthen opponents of the peace process, including the militant Hamas group.

Of course, other “diplomats” don’t want to act so hastily:

Others said Europe should not act too hastily in distancing itself from Arafat. “As long as there’s still an emotional solidarity in Palestine with Arafat, it wouldn’t be prudent to write him off,” said Gernot Erler, deputy chair of the SPD’s parliamentary group.

There’s more of this drivel, if you care to read it. I swear I will never understand the diplomatic mind.