JINSA Report #520 Meanwhile, Back in Gaza

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September 29, 2005

JINSA Report #520

Meanwhile, Back in Gaza

We (mostly) resisted the temptation to dump on the Palestinians for
their depredations following Israel's withdrawal from Gaza. We skipped
over the destruction of millions of dollars worth of greenhouses. We
trod lightly on the torching of empty synagogue buildings and their
transformation into museums glorifying the killing of Jews. We didn't
mention the sheer stupidity of Hamas driving an explosives truck through
a crowd of Palestinians; it exploded, killing 19 and injuring 80. We
(hardly) mentioned the failure of the Palestinian Authority (PA) or the
Egyptians to secure the Philadelphi corridor and the weapons smuggling
that followed. Palestinian behavior in these and other instances is
(mostly) self-revelatory and requires little comment from us.

But things must be said regarding the U.S. response. President Bush
denounced the burning of the once-synagogues, but frankly, empty
buildings are empty buildings – what was holy about the synagogue space
is now holy elsewhere. But the destructive, anti-Semitic behavior that
was driving the Palestinians remains and we wish Mr. Bush had saved some
indignation for that. The U.S. has two levers of influence in Gaza –
money and security cooperation by the PA with the U.S.; we will consider
both.

At the end of July, the PA asked for an "emergency aid package" of $416
million. On September 19th, the day before a Quartet meeting on the Road
Map, the EU announced that the PA would receive $612.15 million in aid
in 2005: $342.8 million from the EU itself; the rest from individual
governments. The U.S. put in President Bush's January announcement of
$350 million, plus $200 million in a supplemental appropriation to be
given directly to Abu Mazen. (The House, however, voted 388-44 to
channel the $200 million through approved NGOs and denied the President
his usual authority to waive the restrictions. Senate action awaits.)
The $315+ million funneled through UNRWA is separate. The total amounts
to the highest per capita aid distribution in the world.

At the meeting on the 20th, the Quartet called on the Palestinians to
"dismantle terrorist capabilities and infrastructures." This is language
lifted directly from the Road Map signed by the Palestinians and is
truly a minimal contribution to statehood.
On the 21st, Abu Mazen dismissed the Quartet, saying, "This is an
internal affair... We know more and are more capable than others of
dealing with our brothers." A Fatah legislator condemned the Quartet
demand as a "flagrant intervention" in Palestinian affairs, adding, "The
Quartet is not authorized to make such a demand...(it should) call on
Israel to disarm armed groups that participated in the elections for the
Knesset." Hamas called it, "an attempt to drive a wedge between the
Palestinians...The Quartet should have called on the Israeli prime
minister to withdraw from all the Palestinian territories and to release
all the prisoners in Israeli jails."
The Palestinians appear to believe they are entitled to the world's
largesse and find requests for civilized behavior to be an imposition on
their freedom of destruction. This posture has security implications for
Israel, Egypt and the rest of the Middle East, which will be addressed
in the next JINSA Report.

To view this JINSA Report online click on the link below.
http://www.jinsa.org/JINSAReports/3172

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