Self-government with…

Self-government without self-control is self-defeating. This Paul-Harvey-ism keeps being proved true, and nowhere more so than in the Palestinian territories.

In a revelation that surprised many here associated with the deal, it emerged this week the charitable foundation of Microsoft founder Bill Gates largely was responsible for transferring to the Palestinians the high-tech Jewish greenhouses of the Gaza Strip prior to Israel’s evacuation of the area.

The greenhouses, passed in a private charity deal last summer, reportedly have been stripped and looted by Palestinian gangs and Palestinian security officers hired to protect the structures.

“I wish I would have known it was Bill Gates who paid for the greenhouses. I would have sent him a thank you letter,” Ahmed Al-Masri, current manager of the Gaza greenhouses, told WorldNetDaily.

“Thanks for the spare parts, Bill. Sorry we threw stones.”

But Gates may not have got his money’s worth.

Ya’ think?

According to reports, the greenhouses were looted by gunmen following Israel’s withdrawal. Computer equipment and, in some cases, entire greenhouses were stolen. The theft has put out of action about 70 acres of the roughly 1,000 acres left by the Jewish communities, according to Al-Masri.

“The looters took their time to dismantle the greenhouses and to uproot entire greenhouses and carry them away,” Amid al-Masri previously told reporters.

Another round of looting struck the greenhouses in February when Fatah gunmen hired to protect the greenhouses abandoned their posts because they had not been paid. Witnesses reported some of the security guards themselves participated in the looting.

These were not just nifty places to grow plants. The produce was bug-free and would have been immensely beneficial to the Palestinians. But now they’re unable to reproduce this success on their own, so who do they turn to?

As WND reported, Palestinian farmers have had trouble reproducing the bug-free produce previously generated by the Jewish owners. The Palestinian owners reportedly asked the U.S. governmental development group USAID to hire former Jewish Gaza greenhouse owners as consultants for their declining vegetable businesses.

Yup, they come to us and to, ironically, Israel. They cut off their nose to spite their face, and now they want to borrow noses.

In what appears to be a face-saving maneuver, the manager alleges he’s recovered it all.

Al-Masri yesterday said the Gaza greenhouses are fully functioning and are producing at full capacity. He also said most of the stolen greenhouse equipment has been recovered by the Palestinian Authority police. His claims could not be independently verified before press time.

We’ll see about that, especially those dismantled and dispersed for parts. The wider the dispersal, the less likely that is true.

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