April 11, 2008 ... Frankie goes to Washington.

Invigorated by their own version of an entente cordial which has become an entente amicable, Germany's Frank Walter Steinmeier is headed out of Israel and on to Washington to discuss a plethora of Amero-European interests with Dr. (but not in Jena) Condoleezza Rice, the three 2008 Presidential hopefuls, and unspecified others. A key concern for Frank Walter Steinmeier is the progress of the Israel-Palestinian peace negotiations. In other words what is America doing about it. But, just as importantly, what is Germany doing about it.

This is a legitimate question because Germany, in consort with its EU member-state counterparts, is a key financial contributor to the Palestinian economy in both the West bank and Gaza. The current round of financing amounts to a potential €3.5-billion, with in excess of €200-million coming from Germany, by way of German Federal Minister (MdB) Heidi Marie Wieczorek-Zeul. It has been pointed out in previous Op-Eds that this financial aid from Germany and the EU simply enables terrorist Palestinian actors to purchase weapons with the tens-of-millions of Dollars they get from other sources in the middle east and elsewhere, and avoid having to spend this money on the modern essentials of life: food, water, electricity, medicines, etc.

It is directly here that Germany can clearly show to America how Germany is influencing the pace of a more speedy settlement, instead of enabling terrorist actors to prolong their aggression towards Israel and undermine Palestinian negotiators who need little undermining at the best of times.

By withholding any further German and EU financial aid until a peace deal is signed, the Palestinians would be swiftly persuaded--not coerced--into making the proper choice. For without the German and EU aid money, the Palestinians would also not be in receipt of the alternative source of funding, since those funds are contingent upon continued aggression towards Israel, and is not to support the essentials of Palestinian life. For example, the proposed and agreed to Egypt-Palesitinian electricity inter-connector is to be financed by a loan--not a gift--from a Saudi Bank. Which must beg a question for Frank Walter Steinmeier and Heidi Marie Wieczorek-Zeul vis-à-vis their German constituents who are having to pony up billions of Euros with which to bail out the German banks because of worthless, US mortgage debt.