Israel Matzav

In March, the World Bank had predicted that by the end of 2006, average personal income would sink by 30 percent, unemployment would jump from a pre-election level of 23 percent to about 40 percent, and the proportion of people living in poverty would climb from 44 percent in 2005 to 67 percent.

In a report released ahead of a meeting of Mideast negotiators and major donors on Wednesday, the bank concluded that "these projections now appear too rosy." Revised projections will be issued next month, it said.

With all due respect....

1. The West has demanded two things from Hamas: to renounce violence and to recognize Israel. Neither of those things even requires any substantive action. The world is looking for a fig leaf to enable it to once again ride to the 'Palestinians' rescue. They require words for that fig leaf. Hamas has so far been unwilling to even say the words (which would probably satisfy all but the thinking Israeli right without question).

2. When the 'Palestinians' held their elections, it was no secret what Hamas stood for. Israel tried to prevent Hamas from running in the elections exactly because it was afraid of this outcome. The 'Palestinians' knew what they were voting for when they chose Hamas. Like the alcoholic who opens a bottle of wine cannot complain that he didn't know that drinking makes you drunk, so the 'Palestinians' cannot claim they didn't know that Hamas stands for terror and that much of the world (particularly the United States and Israel) would not stand for it.

3. Part of growing up and part of being a democracy is living with the consequences of one's actions. There are a lot of Dhimmified Democrats in the US who are very sorry that George Bush invaded Iraq three years ago. But they also realize that it's a democracy and the majority chose, and there's not much they can do about it now. Part of democracy is that you live with the consequences of your actions. The 'Palestinians' claim to want a democracy. They need to learn to live with the results.

4. If Hamas - or its predecessors in the 'Palestinian Authority' - had spent even a tenth of the time and resources that they spent on fomenting terror on fomenting economic growth, they might actually have an 'economy' to speak about today and would no longer be dependent on handouts. Of course, we all know that the Arab countries have an interest in maintaining the 'Palestinians' victim status and therefore might have done all that they could to prevent a real 'Palestinian' economy from developing, but the fact is that the 'Palestinians' didn't even try. Look what they did with the Gush Katif greenhouses that James Wolfensohn and Bill Gates bought for them. Those greenhouses could have provided income to the 'Palestinian Authority' in the last nine months since Israel surrendered them (they provided 75% of Israel's produce before August 2005). But the 'Palestinians' destroyed them. Even if the Karni crossing were not constantly closed due to terror attack warnings, the 'Palestinians' have nothing to export.

There is a 'humanitarian crisis' in Gaza today, and it does need to be resolved. But before it can be resolved, the 'victims' have to decide that they want to help themselves. That means ending the war to destroy the state of Israel. It means concentrating on building their own state instead of trying to destroy another state. It means making a serious effort to end their dependency on the status of victimhood and on the world's handouts (and yes, that includes doing away with UNRWA). So far, the 'victims' have behaved as they please, and expect the rest of the world community to solve their problems. When and if the 'Palestinians' and their elected representatives are ready to at least attempt to function like a normal body politic, there will be plenty of donors willing to help them.