by Prof. Efraim Inbar
A Gaza version of the Marshall Plan is a bad and harmful idea.
Voices
from inside the IDF and out are advising Israel to spearhead a broad
international aid plan for the Gaza Strip. According to the plan's
initiators, its purpose would be to prevent economic deterioration that
could spark unrest and bring to power forces even more radical than
Hamas. Improving the economy in Gaza, supporters of the plan hope, would
also reduce motivation for terrorism against Israel.
The logic behind this aid plan is flawed for several reasons:
1. The assumption that poverty creates
terrorism is a factually baseless liberal myth. There is no correlation
between standard of living and political violence and terror. Poor
countries do not suffer from terrorism any more than richer countries.
Take India, for example. The Palestinians launched their campaign of
terror in 2000, when their economy was at its peak.
2. Believing that economic prosperity among
Gazans will temper the worldview of Hamas' military wing is
unforgivably naive. Radical ideology and religious zealotry will not be
affected by the wealth of unarmed Gazans. In dictatorial regimes such as
the one in Gaza, whoever controls the weapons makes the decisions.
Middle Eastern tyrants do not hesitate to shoot their political rivals.
3. Large-scale economic aid to Gaza means
supporting a bitter enemy determined to destroy the Jewish state. Did
the West ever consider economic help for the people living under Islamic
State's so-called caliphate in an attempt to curb increasing
radicalization? Israel does not need to concern itself with the
viability of Hamas, the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Radical Islam can be defeated only when enough Muslims realize the
extremist version of their religion is the main source of their
suffering, not their well-being.
4. It is an Israeli interest for Hamas to
be weak. This is precisely what Egypt wants, as does the Palestinian
Authority. A Hamas mired in problems is far less likely to seize control
of the PA. A weak Hamas is also more responsive to Egyptian pressure
aimed at forcing the group to reduce the help it provides to radical
Islamist elements in Sinai fighting the Egyptian army.
5. Any measure to bolster Hamas will come
at the PA's expense. Although none of the Palestinian factions are true
peace partners, the PA is less militant. Ultimately, it is a more
palatable partner for the purpose of managing the conflict.
6. Israel's fight against Iran's hegemonic
aspirations in the region – the country's predominant strategic problem –
would also be impaired by Israeli efforts to help the Hamas government.
Hamas cooperates with Iran. Egypt, Saudi Arabia and its allies in the
moderate Sunni camp are fed up with Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
These countries are also gravely fearful of Iran's expanding regional
influence. Sending Israeli aid to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip is
not conducive to improving relations with the moderate Sunni countries
in their stance against Iran. Giving Hamas economic aid buttresses the
radical Islamic camp, of which Iran is a part.
A Gaza version of the Marshall Plan is a
bad and harmful idea. Israel needs to persist with its carrot-and-stick
policy, which has been substantially successful over the years, even if
finding the perfect balance in this fragile equation is complicated and
fraught with uncertainty. Israel has no interest in a humanitarian
crisis in Gaza (and concerns about that have been overblown), but the
proposal to institute a Marshall Plan for Gazans is certain to disrupt
the delicate balance between punishment for bad behavior and incentives
for behavior that Israel does not find pernicious.
Prof. Efraim Inbaris president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies, professor emeritus at Bar-Ilan University, founding director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies and a Shillman-Ginsburg fellow at the Middle East Forum.
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/a-baseless-liberal-myth/
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