I must, reluctantly, tip my cap to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his propaganda machine for their sheer audacity. The more that Israeli troops, settlers and official occupation policies injure and kill Palestinians and make life miserable for the whole population, the more eloquently Israeli officials praise their own humanitarianism in front of the world.

This is the high-water mark for Israeli mendacity, in view of the statement issued by the Israeli government and Olmert after the Cabinet meeting last Sunday, when they decided to release some of the Palestinian tax money they have withheld to finance purchases of medicines by Palestinian hospitals that are running out of essential needs.

The Israeli government statement said: "The state of Israel feels bound - above and beyond its formal obligations - to see to humanitarian concerns, and to the health of those who are ill anywhere. We cannot, under any circumstances, bear the thought of a sick child without medical assistance, solely because of a shortage of drugs, and this has nothing to do with any kind of formal obligation. This is a moral and fundamentally Jewish concern that we want to uphold. We have no intention of helping the Palestinian government, we will not transfer so much as a penny to any Palestinian official, but I say, we will render such assistance as may be necessary for humanitarian needs. This is, has been, and will be, the way of the state of Israel."

I agree that fundamental Jewish concerns have historically focused on moral needs and deeds, which is the beauty and power of Judaism as a religion and an ethical code. I am reminded of this every time I read a Jewish prayer book that a Jewish friend gave me some years ago, which parallels the depth of ethical concerns in the Koran and the New Testament.

That is precisely why the official policies of the state of Israel are so abhorrent to us and to many others around the world, and why Israel has been the most frequently censured state in the United Nations - because in its relations with the Palestinians the state of the Jewish people routinely ignores and contradicts the ethical profundity of the Jewish people themselves.

Olmert's and the Israeli government's expression of deep concern for the health of Palestinian children will get wide play in the global media, but the harsh policies of the Israeli occupation that has lasted for 39 years to date will be less deeply explored. For anyone interested in the facts about the impact of Israeli policies on Palestinian children, a good place to start is the carefully checked data disseminated by the Palestinian Nongovernmental Organization Network (www.palestinemonitor.org). Their data is compiled and verified on the ground by the Ramallah-based Health Development Information and Policy Institute (which has been honored by the World Health Organization for its work in promoting Palestinian health needs). These people know what they are talking about when it comes to health conditions in Israeli-occupied Palestine.