Israel Matzav

The 'Palestinian' addiction to foreign aid

On Friday, Arutz Sheva reported that the World Bank has accused Israel of destroying the economy of Gaza (as if there was something to destroy):

“The pillars of Gaza’s economy have weakened over the years. Now, with a sustained closure on this current scale, they would be at risk of virtually irreversible collapse,” said Faris Hadad-Zervos, the acting director for the World Bank in the Palestinian Authority territories.

Hadad-Zervos told participants at a closed-door meeting of private-sector organizations and aid groups that “A solution must be reached very soon, if not immediately…Otherwise, Gaza’s dependence on humanitarian assistance could become a long-term and comprehensive situation.”

But Dr. Pat Santy points out that Gaza's dependence on 'humanitarian assistance' is already long-term and comprehensive:

Too late, I'm afraid. It has already lasted for half a century, and it couldn't get more culturally and societally "comprehensive" than it already is. The Palestinian "economy" has been based for decades on the creation and export of two fundamental products: (1) terrorism and (2) victimhood. Far from "creating the conditions for an 'irreversible' economic collapse in Hamas-controlled Gaza, the Israelis have made a herculean effort to assist the Palestinians over the years, particularly to support the development of a Palestinian middle-class.

Sadly, they have been thwarted in those efforts by the two precious Palestinian commodities that have been marketed for decades by the dysfunctional Palestinian leaders.

These leaders manipulate Palestinian "victimhood at the hands of Israeli oppression" so convincingly and with such great gusto, that they have conned the international community into believing that Palestinians have absolutely no responsibility whatsoever for the garbage dump their society has evolved into. The poor, oppressed suicide bombers of Palestine have become the "opiate" of the leftist masses.

You should definitely read Pat's entire post.

Amazingly, Israel is going to be giving the 'Palestinians' another chance to create an economic base in Gaza within the next few months. But this time, it will be born out of Israeli necessity as pointed out by Elder of Ziyon quoting the New York Times:

But the ultimate test of pragmatism may come in September when the Hebrew calendar enters what is known in Jewish law as a “shmita” year. Then the fields of Israel are supposed to lie fallow, and observant Jews seek agricultural products grown elsewhere. Before the Hamas takeover, Israel’s rabbis had reached agreements with Palestinians to import vegetables from Gaza, Major Lerner said. Given the needs of both sides, it may still happen.

Will the 'Palestinians' miss another opportunity to miss an opportunity? I doubt it.

Shmitta happens once every seven years. Gaza is not considered part of biblical Israel under Jewish law (why is a long and complicated story - I have already pointed out that Jewish roots in Gaza go back centuries) and during the time when Israel controlled Gaza, most of the country's vegetables came from Gaza whether or not it was shmitta. Of course, that was before the 'Palestinians' destroyed the greenhouses (some of which are pictured above).

Fourteen years ago, Israel still controlled the Gaza Strip, and it was still possible to bring Rabbinic supervision to the fields. Seven years ago, Israel controlled the Strip, but the second intifada had already begun. The Rabbis were taken in helicopters to supervise the fields from above out of fear for their lives. The farmers used foreign (mostly Thai) labor when they had to and suffered many casualties.

What will happen this shmitta? If the 'Palestinians' don't come through, look for Israel to import vegetables from Jordan or from Turkey. And to spend a lot of money doing so.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:35 PM