The madness is going ahead. How many will die as a direct result of granting this enormous windfall to the terrorists of Fatah and the PLO and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades? Israel begins transferring tax funds to Abbas.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said on Sunday it had begun transferring to the Palestinians some of the hundreds of millions of dollars in tax funds it had frozen for 17 months, hoping to bolster President Mahmoud Abbas while isolating Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said steps taken by Abbas to try to rein in militants since Hamas’s violent takeover of the Gaza Strip last month could also lead to progress on the diplomatic front, but he offered no specifics. …

Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisin said Israel was resuming the tax revenue transfers to the emergency government set up by Abbas in the occupied West Bank after he dissolved a unity administration led by Hamas.

“This is part of the new cooperation that we see as important for both sides,” Eisin said. “Israel is committed to working with the new Palestinian government. We hope that together they (Abbas’s cabinet) will be able to build a strong administration which will give them a better capability to enter into full negotiations.”

Israeli officials said the first payment to Abbas’s government would be at least $50 million, about a month’s worth of revenues. The transfer began on Sunday but may not reach the Palestinians until Monday.

Palestinian officials had no immediate comment.

I hope Olmert isn’t expecting a “thank you” card.