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No
Economic Aid to Hamas-Ruled Gaza
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The developing
international consensus to offer Gaza economic aid in exchange for a
ceasefire is a moral and strategic mistake. As long as Hamas rules Gaza,
funds sent to Gaza are likely to be used for aggression against Israel
and the personal use of Hamas leaders. The world should not be rewarding
the most extreme Palestinians for violence and terror.
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With
terror tunnels costing $3 million apiece and all the concrete it can
put its hands on, Hamas has neglected providing for the needs of the people
in Gaza.
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The developing international consensus to offer Gaza an economic
package in order to convince Hamas to agree to a ceasefire is immoral and
a strategic folly. It is also unlikely to be effective.
One of the main reasons for Hamas harassing several million Israelis
by launching thousands of rockets and sending terrorists into Israel by
tunnels, apart from the desire to kill Jews, is to rock the boat in order
to get out of its dire economic conditions. Getting paid for stopping to
shoot at Israeli civilians looks like the "protection money"
collected by the Mafia.
The morality of pouring money into Gaza so that their civilians can
live better remains questionable for as long as Hamas does not stop its
terrorism against Israel. Unfortunately, establishing a clear connection
between economic aid and political compliance is not on the agenda of the
"peacemakers".
It is true that Gazans are suffering. Nevertheless, it is wrong to
argue that the Gazans should not suffer the consequences of Hamas' criminal
actions. Unfortunately, Hamas was popular among the Gazans and continues
to be so. Moreover, all polls show that Gazans support violence against
Israel. What moral justification exists for helping people that support
an organization intent on destroying the Jewish state and is actively
engaged in killing innocent Israeli citizens?
Furthermore, we should not forget that the essence of war is a
competition of inflicting pain in order to change patterns of behavior.
Actually, pain may have a positive value in affecting the learning curve
of the warring sides. Israel has tried to influence the learning curve of
the Palestinians that aggression against Israel does not pay and that
support for Hamas could be costly.
Exacting a high cost from Hamas and the Gazans may lead them to more
peaceful behavior. It is true that it is difficult to influence the
learning process of large collectives, but this has occurred before. For
example, it took a lot of suffering in World War I and World War II to
transform German society into becoming less militaristic and less
belligerent. While not politically correct, such treatment might be the
recipe for turning the Palestinians into peaceful neighbors in the long
run.
Moreover, economic aid to Gaza, as long as Hamas stays in control,
strengthens its power and its grip over the poor Gazans. Allowing the
continued rule of Hamas, as the US plans, also undermines the rule of the
more moderate Palestinian Authority (PA) leader, Mahmoud Abbas. Indeed
the PA also criticized the Kerry cease fire proposal that favored Hamas.
However, this clear strategic rationale seems to be taken over by
sentimentalist responses to Hamas media manipulation. Instead of using
the depressing pictures coming out of Gaza to tell Gazans: "We told
you all along that Hamas leadership would only make things worse"
(just as it has in other places where radical Islamists gain power),
Western leaders seem to have foolishly decided that Gaza should speedily
be rebuilt! The US efforts to bribe Hamas into behaving (while suspending
aid to Egypt), are probably against American laws dealing with terrorist
organizations.
Promises of aid send the wrong signal. It tells Palestinians that
their leadership can make grave, deadly mistakes, and nevertheless
gullible Westerners and others will bail them out. It also signals to
Hamas that it can continue seeking the destruction of Israel and shooting
at the Jewish State; for if Israel repeats its military action, merciful
donor states will repair the damage yet again.
Diplomats are looking for formulas that will enable channeling aid to
the Gaza Strip bypassing Hamas. Realistically, there is no way to
reconstruct Gaza without strengthening the Hamas. The reconstruction of
Hamastan in Gaza — an Iranian base that threatens Israel and many
moderate Arab regimes — makes no strategic sense.
More importantly, Hamas has used aid to enhance its military
capabilities. It built an infrastructure to produce missiles and a
network of tunnels. The home-made missiles are relatively cheap, but according
to IDF estimates, the cost of each attack tunnel is approximately $3
million. All this adds up to millions of dollars.
America helped reconstruct Western Europe and Japan after World War II
to make sure they would be ruled by friendly democratic regimes. Hamas is
authoritarian and anti-Western. Moreover, its rule will doom the Gazans
to continuous poverty and ignorance. It is simply senseless to facilitate
the continuation of Hamas rule.
The history of humanitarian aid in the last century shows that outside
economic aid is only as good as the ability of a recipient's economy and
government to use it prudently and productively. Like many Third World
countries, Gaza lacks the legal and institutional infrastructure needed
for the effective dispersal of economic aid. Billions of euros
transferred to the PA since the Oslo Accords have been squandered and
misused by corruption and ineptitude. Very little aid has filtered down
to the people. Therefore, it is not at all clear that sending more money
to the dysfunctional Gaza will do any good.
From what we know of the fortunes of the humanitarian aid transferred
to the Gazans in recent years, it is clear that external aid will be
siphoned off to the corrupt Hamas leadership. Khaled Mashaal, and Musa
Abu Marzook are evaluated to be billionaires, while Ismail Haniyeh, is
only a millionaire.
Some will be directed to Hamas activists; and only what is left will
go to the destitute. Those with arms always get the first and best cut
from international aid sent to the suffering. This is what is happening
everywhere international aid is dispensed. Gaza is not different.
Humanitarian aid should be dispensed judiciously, while making sure
that it does not preserve poverty and dependence. Even the friends of the
Palestinian national movement should realize that it is time for tough
love for Gaza.
Prof. Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for
Strategic Studies, is a professor of political studies at Bar-Ilan
University, and a Shillman/Ginsburg fellow at the Middle East Forum.
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